Portable audio player

Portable battery-operated reel-to-reel tape recorders were introduced in the 1950s,[1] initially tending to be high-priced units for reporters, produced by Uher and Nagra.

[citation needed] The first portable audio player available to the general public, the Sony Walkman, was introduced in 1979 and sold very well.

It was much smaller than an 8-track player or the earlier cassette recorders, and was listened to with stereophonic headphones, unlike previous equipment which used small loudspeakers.

Unlike small loudspeakers, headphones were capable of very good sound quality.

The advantage of solid-state DAPs over hard disks and CDs is resistance to vibration, small size and weight, and low battery usage.