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Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

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Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#71

Post by asimovDev »

robotresearcher wrote: post #58
trencedamp wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because I want something half the size of a phone. I don't need a giant screen, I just want a player that can do music or audiobooks and be light enough to run with. I find myself researching, trying to find the smallest lightest old phone that either has decent internal memory or a micro SD slot, but it's not easy. Most phones are massive compared to an iPod shuffle

Here's a one in close to the form factor of the last iPod Shuffle: https://www.fiio.com/m5

They have an AI assistant on the webpage and it says that the shortcut to activate it is cmd+Q (on Mac this is a global shortcut to quit an application, akin to alt+F4) which is absolutely psychotic. I wonder if in chinese macOS the shortcut is different or something or the person designing it uses windows and just thought ctrl+q(uestion) makes perfect sense

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#72

Post by parl_match »

trencedamp wrote: post #13

This is a really interesting read. But it doesn't answer one question I have, which is why can't Sony or Apple or anyone else bring back decent MP3 players? None of this technology is lost, and there are plenty of small-time two bit no name players out there still making them, often in a much smaller, much slicker form factor than than the original digital Walkman or iPod. If I want to buy a new MP3 player, I have to…

> which is why can't Sony or Apple or anyone else bring back decent MP3 players

the burning answer is really, by the time you've chosen a modern merchant soc, and put a screen on it, you're really more or less at the same BOM cost as a very low end android device (and frankly, the soc bsp you chose is likely to be android/aosp to begin with)

so you're basically competing head to head with every shitphone maker out there, and they have economies of scale. you do not.

> Why can't somebody take simple smartphone hardware

and so... now you're competing with simple smartphones. you're going to charge more for a fancy case for something that requires to be carried separate from your phone and offers zero additional advantage?

there's a huge market for external mobile DSPs for this reason. this is an example of an entry level one https://www.microcenter.com/product/705193/moondrop-freedsp-...

btw, im sure someone like shanling is making exactly what you're thinking of, but they often have limited production runs and still cost within the same range as a basic android phone (usually a bit more)

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#73

Post by stevekemp »

jerlam wrote: post #20
trencedamp wrote: post #13

This is a really interesting read. But it doesn't answer one question I have, which is why can't Sony or Apple or anyone else bring back decent MP3 players? None of this technology is lost, and there are plenty of small-time two bit no name players out there still making them, often in a much smaller, much slicker form factor than than the original digital Walkman or iPod. If I want to buy a new MP3 player, I have to…

MP3s have been on the way out for a long time, being replaced by music subscriptions. And "MP3 player" is a feature of other devices, not its own device. Both my Apple Watch and Garmin watch can store and play MP3s without a phone; both also support music subscriptions. The only market is in the "enthusiast audiophile flac player thing that costs way too much", just like it is currently for vinyls and DVD players.

I buy films from local charity shops for €1/film, but it seems the local electronics stores are not selling many DVD players any more.

It seems like streaming "won", which is disappointing.

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#74

Post by verve_rat »

dotancohen wrote: post #69

It's all the same arguments as the "Why can't we build another Saturn V rocket" and the like. The parts are no longer available, the technical blueprints that remain do not paint a full picture of the manufacturing process, and the engineers and machinists who did know the full picture are mostly retired and decreased.

Yup. In other words, we totally could, but there is no reason to put the time, effort and money into doing so.

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#75

Post by nl »

rtpg wrote: post #65
trencedamp wrote: post #13

This is a really interesting read. But it doesn't answer one question I have, which is why can't Sony or Apple or anyone else bring back decent MP3 players? None of this technology is lost, and there are plenty of small-time two bit no name players out there still making them, often in a much smaller, much slicker form factor than than the original digital Walkman or iPod. If I want to buy a new MP3 player, I have to…

My understanding is there are decent MP3 players by places like Fiio at this point? Haven't used any of em in anger though Though I have a walkman (that kinda sucks cuz it's android.... it's (USB-C AND annoying Android OS) XOR (Proprietary charging cable) from Sony nowadays > Why can't somebody take simple smartphone hardware and make a modern media player that is not a phone? Sony Walkmans are this, along with a bun…

> Sony Walkmans are this

The cheapest one I'm seeing is the Sony NW-A306. That's around $600 - I think it fits into the OP's category of "some sort of enthusiast audiophile flac player thing that costs way too much"

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#76

Post by youngtaff »

trencedamp wrote: post #42
nubinetwork wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The iPod was a product in an interesting time... if you ignore the screen, a modern mp3 player could be made as small as a SD card... as soon as you add the screen, you need a full operating system to manage files and run the screen. Nobody wants to put the effort into something that's going to be as basic as a mp3 player.

It barely needs a screen. I adored my minidisc players and they were all basically calculator displays

I adored my MiniDisc too but the limited storage of a single disk makes it easy to find the music you want

Given how much we can store in solid state not sure I’d want to navigate my library without a screen

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#77

Post by bombcar »

cbmuser wrote: post #50

It’s really only economics, there is simply no relevant market for mechanical cassette players that would justify the investment. I don’t think it’s true that the capabilities to make these devices are lost. There are still companies like ALPS that are capable of making the necessary parts. But in the end, the market is too small to justify any investments.

There's still TAPE drives out there, but nowhere near as many as there were, and they're expensive.

You could make a Walkman; it'd cost $3-10k each.

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#78

Post by pelgueta »

trencedamp wrote: post #13

This is a really interesting read. But it doesn't answer one question I have, which is why can't Sony or Apple or anyone else bring back decent MP3 players? None of this technology is lost, and there are plenty of small-time two bit no name players out there still making them, often in a much smaller, much slicker form factor than than the original digital Walkman or iPod. If I want to buy a new MP3 player, I have to…

Did you even read the article? They mention Sony sells a new Walkman just like what you mention https://www.sony.co.uk/walkman

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#79

Post by [deleted] »

trencedamp wrote: post #38
turtlebits wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't somebody take simple smartphone hardware and make a modern media player that is not a phone? Because you can do that with any phone and just not use the phone part?

Because I want something half the size of a phone. I don't need a giant screen, I just want a player that can do music or audiobooks and be light enough to run with. I find myself researching, trying to find the smallest lightest old phone that either has decent internal memory or a micro SD slot, but it's not easy. Most phones are massive compared to an iPod shuffle

[deleted]

Re: Why Sony can't bring back its classic Walkman models

#80

Post by [deleted] »

trencedamp wrote: post #13

This is a really interesting read. But it doesn't answer one question I have, which is why can't Sony or Apple or anyone else bring back decent MP3 players? None of this technology is lost, and there are plenty of small-time two bit no name players out there still making them, often in a much smaller, much slicker form factor than than the original digital Walkman or iPod. If I want to buy a new MP3 player, I have to…

[deleted]
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