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first phonograph
In 1877 the first phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison. -
victrola
In 1906 the victrola record player was introduced by RCA victor. -
rpm
In the 1940s, Columbia introduced the 33-1/3 RPM long-playing record (LP) at about the same time the Decca Record Company helped usher in the era of high fidelity with full frequency range recordings -
audio cassette
In 1963, Phillips introduced the audio cassette tape format that eventually became popular among home audio enthusiasts. -
digital audio
Sony developed the first digital audio recording devices to be used by professional studios in 1978. -
products
Meanwhile, other products such as the Microsoft Zune, as well as devices from Creative and SanDisk, directly model features on the iPod, but also work to advance both the MP3 and WMA formats by further enriching their sound quality through technology that better replicates the uncompressed original. -
itunes
Apple’s decision to release a Windows version of iTunes in 2003 has helped iPod sales immensely, even though Windows continues to use and market players designed specifically for its WMA format. -
iphone
In 2007, Apple entered the cellular phone market with the iPhone, integrating all the features of the iPod with the modern cell phone, including a full range of multimedia applications, Internet browsing, and touch-screen technology. -
cassette
Sony retired the classic cassette tape Walkman line in 2010, and was forced to pay a huge settlement to the original inventor of the portable cassette player, Andreas Pavel. But the name lives on today in the form of new MP3 players and sony’s walkman app. -
history
.For now, however, it is worthwhile to look back at the relatively short 150-year history of audio players to see how far, technologically speaking, we’ve already advanced.
