中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
索尼公司近日宣布，诞生于1979年、全球销量超过2.2亿台的索尼Walkman（随身听）将在日本国内停售。据了解，索尼最后一批磁带随身听生产于今年4月份，现有商品在日本售罄后将不会再上货。不过，该产品在中国的生产仍将继续，以满足美国、欧洲以及部分亚洲国家少数用户的需求。上世纪八、九十年代，随身听曾经盛行一时，它改变了人们听音乐的习惯，并创造了“耳机文化”的概念。进入21世纪后，互联网逐渐普及，以MP3为代表的数字音乐格式逐渐流行，更多的年轻人选择从网络下载音乐，而不是去商店购买磁带和CD，随身听的主流地位也逐渐被MP3播放器所取代。有趣的是，索尼公司宣布这个消息的日子正好是苹果iPod诞生9周年纪念日的前一天。
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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)
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
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