Tribute to the Sony Walkman

This July marks the 36th anniversary of the Sony Walkman’s debut.

Here at Innovative Care Products, we have a fascination with vintage portable consumer electronics and we greatly appreciate the early Walkman cassette players. These devices were revolutionary examples of innovative design, engineering and miniaturization.

In July of 1979, Sony introduced the TPS-L2 Soundabout (later named the Walkman TPS-L2) but encountered lackluster sales after the first month. Decades later, the Walkman grew in popularity by selling over 300 million units and today is regarded as one of the most revolutionary examples of consumer electronics.

In a similar way, the iPad is a portable consumer electronic device that is also revolutionary in its design and capabilities. One thing in common between the Walkman and iPad is how both are sophisticated devices that require protective carry cases. Early Sony Walkman cassette players benefited from carry cases with shoulder straps much like the iPad. Below are images of the original carry case for the TPS-L2 Soundabout and our Air Professional case (for iPad Air 1 and 2). The TPS-L2 Soundabout case was worn over the chest (like a kangaroo pouch) and supported the cassette player with two straps that wrapped behind the left and right shoulders.