LAS VEGAS: Sony is bringing back the Walkman, with a new model of the music player pioneer that comes with high-resolution playback and Bluetooth-connected headphones.
The new Walkman, targeting audiophiles and set to cost about $US1200 in the United States, is a high-end version of a model Sony released in 2013 after retiring the classic cassette player in 2010. The first-generation, clunky-looking Walkman went on sale in July 1979, redefining the way people listened to music.
The NW-ZX2 Walkman was among products unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and will be available globally alongside new high-end headphones in the first quarter of this year. Local pricing is yet to be announced.
Sony also presented an ultra high-definition action camera that uses the 4K video format it’s trying to push, a challenge to GoPro in the market for filming extreme sports.
Chief Executive Office Kazuo Hirai led the presentation at CES as Tokyo-based Sony seeks to move past the embarrassing hacking on its Hollywood studio, an attack Hirai described as “vicious and malicious”.
Sony is developing more content for 4K video – whose resolution is about four times that of high-definition models – to help drive customer adoption of the technology. The company produced popular shows such as The Blacklist and Masters of Sex in the format.
“4K will continue to be an important area of development and distinction for Sony,” Hirai said. “Looking at what’s currently in production or has recently wrapped, we’re seeing a fantastic rate of adoption of our 4K capability among our Sony Pictures colleagues.”
All of Sony’s web-connected TVs will run this year on Google’s Android platform with Sony planning models from 43 inches to 75 inches (1.9 metres). The X900C TV is just 0.2 inches deep at its thinnest point, the company said.
