中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
索尼公司近日宣布，誕生于1979年、全球銷量超過2.2億臺的索尼Walkman（隨身聽）將在日本國內停售。據了解，索尼最后一批磁帶隨身聽生產于今年4月份，現有商品在日本售罄后將不會再上貨。不過，該產品在中國的生產仍將繼續，以滿足美國、歐洲以及部分亞洲國家少數用戶的需求。上世紀八、九十年代，隨身聽曾經盛行一時，它改變了人們聽音樂的習慣，并創造了“耳機文化”的概念。進入21世紀后，互聯網逐漸普及，以MP3為代表的數字音樂格式逐漸流行，更多的年輕人選擇從網絡下載音樂，而不是去商店購買磁帶和CD，隨身聽的主流地位也逐漸被MP3播放器所取代。有趣的是，索尼公司宣布這個消息的日子正好是蘋果iPod誕生9周年紀念日的前一天。
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The Walkman was the world's first commercial personal stereo system and revolutionized how people listened to music. |
The Walkman was the world's first commercial personal stereo system and revolutionized how people listened to music.
Often cited as one of the greatest gadget inventions of all time it has been squeezed out by portable CD players and latterly the advent of digital rivals, most notably Apple's iPod.
Since its launch in 1979 around 220 million Walkmans have been sold worldwide and the ground-breaking, pocket-sized music player was cherished by a generation of joggers and teenagers.
While the last batch has already been produced for the Japanese market, Sony said it will continue making the device in China to accommodate a dwindling band of users in the US, Europe and some Asian countries.
George Boyd, a spokesman for Sony in Tokyo, said: "There is still demand in certain regions, including emerging markets, but in Japan there has been a shift to other forms of recording media."
The Walkman was dreamed up by Nobutoshi Kihara, an engineer in Sony's audio division, in response to a request from Akio Morita, the company's joint chairman, who wanted to listen to operas during his frequent long-haul business flights.
Initial public reaction to the Walkman was lukewarm but it took off when it was marketed at younger consumers.
Its popularity began to fade with the arrival of CDs and was further eroded by downloadable music and devices that can store thousands of songs, while also delivering better sound quality.
The retirement of the Sony Walkman in Japan was announced the day before the ninth anniversary of the release of the iPod.
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(Agencies)
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
