The Triumph of MP3 Players

Prior to the invention of the phonograph, music enthusiasts and early party-goers needed to be where the tunes are playing. The elite few who can afford to get their own band for hire listened comfortably to music at the luxury of their own homes. Then, like a prelude to some phase of destiny unfolding, a smart guy named Thomas Alva Edison produced the first, patented phonograph, a world of portable music beckoned.

Turntables followed. Music flowed out from discs bigger than any Sunday party plates and thinner than the thinnest mobile phone of today. These discs can only play 6-7 songs only. Back then, the turntable was a status symbol, a luxurious item for those who can afford it. And so were the music discs. The more music discs you have, the higher your status in life. But bringing a turntable that weighed more than your loaded picnic basket was not exactly their idea of portable. So the cassette player was born. Along with this innovation came the amplifier, speakers in big boxes, and the cassette tape. Probably one of the lasting inventions of our lifetime, the cassette player and tapes replaced the turntable and their gigantic discs as the must-have items of the time. The bigger and louder your cassette player was, the more cooler you were. But still, the portable radio was a bulk of a machine. So came the Sony Walkman of the 80’s. The first portable music player of all time, the Sony Walkman became a cultural icon overnight. Eventually, the cassette player, cassette tapes, and the Walkman were eventually dethroned by laser technology and compact discs, but they did go out putting up a good stand. The cassette players had considerably given laser technology and compact discs a very stiff competition for profits and shares. But cassettes had to give way to CD’s and CD players. Portable CD players became rampant as well. But while they were the ‘it’ thing in the music scene, their sole domination over music was jeopardize by the advent of Internet and MP3 technology.

Now, we still some CD’s and CD players around but admittedly and obviously, they do not have the top spot as of late. Apple iPods with their iPod cases and iPod accessories have gained superiority in the mobile music scene. Mobile phone manufacturers like Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola have produced their own line of music phones. Cell phone accessories for music has lorded the scene used to be dominated by theire predecessors. MP3 players have triumphed.