History of CD Players

While the CD was originally conceived in 1969 by inventor Klass Compaan, the CD player did not reach the public marketplace for almost 15 years. The introduction of the CD player into the worldwide market helped to replace audio tape as the preferred recording medium, which would eventually lead consumers into the digital age and the advent of MP3s and MP3 players in the early twenty-first century.

History

The first CD player was called the CDP-101 and was produced by the Sony corporation. Original CD players could only read Compact Discs, though they have evolved over the years into players that can read CD-RWs, DVDs, MP3s and other digital media.

Computers

CD drives for computers, referred to as CD-ROMs, were first produced in 1985. They allowed users to play music on their computers using CDs. It also allowed software companies to sell programs and other products in CD format.

Car Players

In 1984, CD players became commercially available to be installed in automobiles. This allowed users to listen to CDs while driving.

Discman

The portable CD player was first produced in 1983 and was called the CD Walkman. It was nicknamed the "Discman," and the name was officially adopted by Sony in 2000.

Writeable CDs

Recordable CDs were introduced to the world market in 1988, along with CD recording devices, which allowed people to make their own mixed CDs to play on their CD players.

Fun Fact

With the rise in popularity of the MP3 player, sales of CD players have drastically dropped since 2000.