Ongoing History Daily: The first portable music player came out 100 years ago.
For most people, the first portable music player was the Sony Walkman, released on July 1, 1979. For others, it might be the cheap suitcase-style portable record players everywhere through the 1950s and 1960s. But the truth may surprise you.
In 1924, Miklós and Étienne Vadász, a couple of brothers from Hungary, created the Mikiphone. It was a portable record player which used a hand-cranked spring-loaded motor to spin 10-inch 78 RPM discs. Let me read from an ad that appeared at the time: “Fits in a jacket pocket / Goes in a lady’s handbag / Will hang on a cycle frame / Goes in a car door pocket / Ideal for picnics, car jaunts, river trips.”
Although 180,000 units were sold, it was ultimately a failure and was gone by 1927.
