Comparing Sony Walkman MP3 & iPod MP3
Apple's iPod has become one of the most recognizable names among portable music players. Not far behind is the Sony Walkman, one of the oldest names in the industry. Name recognition and features have not allowed Sony's Walkman MP3 players to duplicate the popularity of its first Walkman or cut into Apple's share of the portable-music market.
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History
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Sony recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of its first Walkman, a portable cassette player that hit shelves July 1, 1979. Sony's first digital MP3 player hit the market in 1999. But it wasn't until Apple released the first iPod in 2001 that portable MP3 players became widely popular. Before the iPod, MP3 players were known for being large and difficult to use.
Models
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Both the iPod and the Sony MP3 Walkman come in a variety of models--each with slightly different features, storage capacities and prices. The iPod has the 2-gb and 4-gb Shuffle, the 8-gb and 16-gb Nano, the 160-gb Classic and the 8-gb, 32-gb and 64-gb Touch. Sony counters with the 16-gb and 32-gb X Series, the 8-gb and 16-gb S Series, the 8-gb and 16-gb E Series and the 2-gb W Series.
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Function
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While they feature many bells and whistles, portable music players perform the same basic function--storing and playing music. All four models of the iPod and the Walkman play digital music files. Three of each brand--iPod's Nano, Classic and Touch and Walkman's X, S and E Series--also play video. The Touch and the X Series also have WiFi capabilities, allowing users to access the Internet.
Sales
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The iPod is the fastest-selling portable music player. At a September 2009 Apple event, the company said it has sold more than 220 million iPods. Sony says it has sold more than 385 million Walkmans, but that total includes all its forms going back to cassette players. Sony says it sold 7 million units in the year ending in March 2009--up more than 1 million from the previous year's sales but far off the standards set by earlier models and the iPod.
Prices
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In November 2009, the iPod Shuffle carried a suggested retail price of $59 for the 2-gb model and $79 for the 4-gb. The 8-gb iPod Nano sold for $149 and the 16-gb model for $179. The iPod Classic sold for $249. The 8-gb Touch sold for $199, the 16-gb for $299 and the 32-gb for $399. At the same time, Sony's W Series Walkman sold for $59.95; the 8-gb E Series for $79.95 and the 16-gb E for $99.95; the 8-gb S for $109.95 and the 16-gb S for $129.95; and the 16-gb X for $299.95 and the 32-gb X for $399.95.
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References
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of C Ling Fan
