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.
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