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October 23, 2010

Sony Has Ceased Making Cassette Walkmans

Chris has apprised us of this article that explains the end of the Sony Cassette Walkman.

Posted at 06:11 AM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink

Comments

Thanks for the heads up. The Sony Style website shows that the WM-FX29W is still available. I have one of these. It's a decent unit soundwise but the battery cover is very poorly constructed and of poor design too. The cover is at the bottom edge of the unit, so if it breaks (which happened to my first one) there really is no way to repair it. Even using duct tape didn't work, not enough pressure to keep the batteries in contact.

For that reason I think I'm going to order a backup while I still can. I still like to listen to old casette tapes once in awhile while walking. I'd miss it. Thanks again.

Posted by: Ken K. in NJ | October 23, 2010 at 08:30 AM

Ken,

Is the WM-FX29W made in Japan or China?

Posted by: Paul | October 23, 2010 at 11:50 AM

There's apparently only one cassette Walkman model marketed in the US, the WM-FX290W:
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&catalogId=10551&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665363966

More appears to be available in Japan, although I believe most have been discontinued by now:
http://www.sony.jp/walkman/lineup/tape/

The WM-EX651 has a full metal body and is supplied with Remote Control and rechargeable batteries.
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/paw-cassette-walkman/wm-ex651

Details on the WM-GX410:
http://www.sony-asia.com/product/wm-gx410

History of the Walkman:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkman

Posted by: Paul | October 23, 2010 at 01:50 PM

(Is the WM-FX29W made in Japan or China?)

China. But other than the flimsy battery cover as mentioned above, it's a sturdy unit. I've had the current one for a few years now, no problems.

Posted by: Ken K. | October 23, 2010 at 02:57 PM

I'm shocked this hadn't happened years ago. Has anyone tried to buy a VHS tape at retail lately? A friend of mine wanted to record a football game for his father----went to places that always had them (CVS drugstore, electronics store, Target, etc.) and they no longer had blank VHS tapes available. They told him you have to order online now because everyone records from TEVO and from their cable system.

Posted by: Angelo | October 24, 2010 at 10:51 AM

Good Riddance. IMO, this is the device that started the death of decent radios with speakers. Followed by the CD walkman and the Ipod it led the revolution in "personal" music and the demise of music and radio as a shared experience.

Posted by: TomWc | October 25, 2010 at 06:30 AM

(they no longer had blank VHS tapes available)

Same here in NJ. I still find it easier to use my VCR for taping than trying to figure out any new technology and we don't have Tivo. So I went out a few weeks ago and picked up about 20 good condition used VHS tapes from a couple of garage sales. Seems like everybody has tapes for sale these days. Total cost about $10.

I'm set now for the next few years. But first I'm having a blast watching some of them, most of which date back to the late 80's and early 90's. Old football or baseball games, news reports, cheesy variety shows, etc. There's even one, which I'm keeping, of 6 hours of the live coverage of the 1989 SF earthquake.

Posted by: Ken K. | October 26, 2010 at 06:41 AM

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