Death of a form factor: Sony’s Walkman now encircles your head
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Sony’s iconic Walkman went from rectangular to circular in the switch from cassettes to CD’s; now it’s disappearing altogether, going up into the headphones, where the MP3’s can live in a little flash drive. Sony’s patented Jog Wheel is the main interface, rounded out with buttons for volume control and shuffling. When not worn, the separate headpieces attach to each other via magnets, keeping the form contiguous.
To see what it looks like worn, check out the promotional video. (You only have to watch the first 20 seconds, the rest is filler).
The complete freedom from cables seems pretty darned attractive, and if this thing had a phone in it, I’d buy one in a heartbeat. (Of course there would be interface issues with no screen, but perhaps some clever product designer can tackle that one.)
Dubbed the W202, it’s being released in Japan later this month.
photos via hardware zone
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