The Gang Creates a Walkman-Inspired Device to Celebrate its 41st Anniversary
The year is 1979 and the newest gadget has been released: the Sony Walkman.
A device that would eventually grow and become popularized by music lovers worldwide, the Walkman was the world’s first portable stereo cassette player.
Released to the market on July 1, 1979, the Walkman came into existence by the grace of Sony’s co-founder, Masaru Ibuka. An avid traveler and passionate about music, Ibuka longed for something functional, portable, and size-appropriate to fit his lifestyle, ultimately spurring his suggestion of a personal music device. After an initial proof of concept and a four-month development phase for the actual Walkman, the product was released to the masses and the rest is history, according to History.com
MVRK Maker Projects
At MVRK, we believe the real magic in making is giving life to imagination. Making gives us an avenue where we can dream as big as our hands can take us. We strive to create interactive experiences in unconventional and whimsical ways that garner surprise and delight. We place our imagination into the palm of your hands.
Giving life to imagination was exactly what Masaru Ibuka accomplished. According to HISTORY, Ibuka “was already in the habit of carrying one of his company’s “portable” stereo tape recorders with him on international flights. But the Sony TC-D5 was a heavy device. Like seeing someone today walk around with a boombox on their shoulder — while historically cool, it’s not the practical method of music-listening we love now.
So, Ibuka asked his then-deputy Norio Ohga if he could cobble together something better”. Indeed, “something better” was created.
According to TIME, The Sony Walkman was predicted to only sell about 5,000 units a month but instead sold upwards of 50,000 units in the first two months. A device created from a spark of imagination signaled the start to the success of Sony and portable music.
Ever-inspired by innovations like these, MVRK is back to the workshop. To celebrate the 41st birthday of the iconic device, we put our own spin on it and created a MVRK-ified version.
Our Approach To Making A Walkman-Inspired Device
While the original Walkman featured a cassette player and over-the-ear headphones, our version was created to adapt to today’s modern technology.
The classic buttons, now 3D printed, fully control the digital music playback on the mobile device inside. Essentially a phone case, the device holds a mobile phone where a cassette formerly went. It was designed on Fusion 360 and 3D printed using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). While nostalgic-looking, the device itself hosts a modernized interior. Using an ESP32 microcontroller with attached buttons and a linear potentiometer, we were able to program it to pause or play audio, skip or go back to a previous song, and adjust the volume level.
As an added bonus, the interior contains a built-in charger to charge your smartphone on the go while still allowing you to listen to your favorite jams. Complete with a headphone jack, you can plug in old school wire headphones and rock out.
Not limited to a single-sided cassette like days past, this version lets you use any streaming service of your choice to fire up a podcast, favorite song or tune into our throwback playlist Awesummer Mix — a mix of our team’s favorites from ’79 (coming 7/2).
While this was a blast to replicate, it was an internal MVRK project and not associated or affiliated with Sony or the Walkman brand.
Sony Walkman Fun Facts
Just in case you didn’t know much about the SONY Walkman back in the day or now, here are some fun things we learned about the innovative device:
Ever Heard Of The Walkman Effect?
- Well, this concept actually comes from the Sony Walkman. According to The New Yorker, musicologist, Shuehi Hosokawa published an article named “The Walkman Effect” in 1984. The concept refers to the disconnection created between the Walkman user and the environment. You click play on the Walkman and immediately gain a sense of escape from the world.
More Models Than One Can Count
- Catawiki states that there have been over 80 different models of the Walkman all with varying features. From solar-powered to water-resistant versions, the Walkman is here to stay!
Opera Inspired
- According to Mental Floss, The Walkman was inspired by co-founders' desire to listen to opera during his long flights. What music did you listen to when using the Walkman?
