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Regency TR-1
In 1954, I.D.E.A. released the first ever portable transistor radio. This is basically a very tiny radio with an invisible antenna; something unheard of at the time being. At only 3" x 5" x 1.25" the Regency TR-1 was a milestone in portable music, that is, despite its mediocre quality. It costed 49.95 back then, which translates to around $325 today. -
KLH Model 11 Portable
Circa 1962, Henry Kloss decided he wanted to be a part of the portable sound revolution. With a "suitcase" design style in mind, he combined a stereo system, a record amplifier, and two speakers to make the first portable stereo. This was a dramatic change from gigantesque HiFi systems folks used to keep in their homes. -
Philips Compact Cassette and the Battery it Ran On
Around 1965, Phillips was ready to release the first ever compact cassette tape. The cassette was originally created to record your professors insanely boring lectures or anything else you very literally cannot stand listening to. It recorded up to 45 minutes of sound on an itty bitty 1/8 in tape. But wait! Before Phillips could release their cassette, they simply needed to release an innovative battery to compliment it. The Carry- Corder 150 ran on five flashlight batteries and weighed 3lbs. -
Sony Walkman TPS_L2
In 1979, Sony released the Walkman we all know and love today. What truly made the walkman baffling was the fact that it was barely bigger than the cassette tape it held. Running on double A batteries, the user could listen with a pair of headphones that came with the purchase of the Walkman. The Walkman sold millions of units and averaged at about $274 a pop in today's money. -
Sony Discman D-50
To keep up with the CD revolution, Sony felt it was necessary to update their Walkman line thus the birth of the Discman. It was the first ever portable digital music player and came in a array of colors. This meant you could pop in a CD on your bus ride to school, for the first time. Today it would retail for around $350. -
SaeHan / Eiger Labs MpMan F10
In 1998, SaeHan and Eiger labs released the first actual MP3 player, ever. That means, despite popular belief, Apple was number two. The MPMan ran on a rechargeable battery pack and had 32MB of space, which could be easily upgraded if sent back to SeaHan. 32MB meant it held around 8 tracks, or 30 minutes of music, which simply blew all other competitors away. Accompanied with nine hours of battery life, it's still better than many hard-drive based players today. -
Apple iPod and iTunes
Released in 2001, the original iPod was slim, capable, attractive, and by all means 110% better than every other model before it. Marketed by Steve Jobs as "1000 songs in your pocket," the iPod was a perfect example of Apple's ability to step back, observe what everyone was doing wrong, and do it right. Apple was already the king of simple yet unique designs, and people were expecting nothing less from the iPod. They weren't disappointed. Along with that, Apple released iTunes in 2003, a sim
