Portable audio player

A portable audio player is a personal mobile device that allows the user to listen to recorded audio while mobile. Portable audio players became possible in the 1970s and continue to be developed today. The technology used in such players continues to evolve with the latest audio media.

8 track

The 8-track player was first introduced in the 1960s as the first actual portable audio device. While it did have large success, it was heavily criticized not only for its bulk but its lack of convenience. It could only play eight-track tapes so most tapes had to be separated into two, or even sometimes three, parts.

Cassette players

The personal cassette player was introduced in 1979 and sold very well. While it was criticized -- eight-track tapes weren't compatible with cassette tapes -- it was still a great improvement over the eight-track system. It was much smaller and the tapes were easier to carry around.

CD players

Digital players

In 1998, digital audio players (based on solid-state drives or hard disk storage) started to be available (The Rio PMP300 from Diamond Multimedia is widely considered as the first mass market DAP). But as the portable players before them, there were many issues. Music in digital format, at least the one coded under lossy compression, has usually worse sound quality than compact discs, and is not suitable for high fidelity. However, it is extremely well fit for portable audio playing. The small file size permits the use of smaller player devices, and the digital format allows for the use of flash memories, which are much more resistant to vibration and hits than CDs players are.