First there was the humble cassette Walkman. Then the world moved on to the CD Walkman or Discman. But they’re now a thing of the past, with the iPod and mp3 players taking over. But what’s this? The personal CD player is making a comeback? The economy must be in trouble.

I think I’m losing my marbles. There was me thinking that thanks to the invention of the iPod at the turn of the century, the world had moved on to digital formats rather than physical ones for music. Sure, the CD is still king for playing music at home on a living room stereo system, but when you’re out and about, an mp3 player surely rules.

But it seems not, with The Daily Telegraph reporting how the personal or portable CD player that could once be seen on every street corner, are making a comeback, years after its obituary was first published. But who the hell are buying these antiquities, and why?

It seems as though shops that once phased personal CD players out in favor of handing over more shelve space to mp3 players are restocking the item in time for Christmas 2008. While other shops are stating sales of the product have increased 50 percent from last year to this.

There are some possible reasons for this revisiting of past technology. For starters, not everyone has access to a computer, or the Internet, making an iPod or mp3 player pretty worthless. Then there’s the technical knowhow required to fill up an mp3 player. Although it may seem like child’s play to many of us, those of a certain age may find the whole process a bit of a push.

But the biggest reason is surely the state of the economy. People are starting to notice the recession now, having less money in their pockets, and consequently less spare cash to spend on expensive consumer goods. With the price of personal CD players having dropped to around £15 ($25) in recent years, the benefit over an expensive mp3 player is clear.

However, I still find it a strange turn of events. As Jack Schofield at The Guardian points out, you can get a 1GB mp3 player for around £10 ($18) these days, and that’s surely better than having to lug around a case full of CDs every time you fancy a change of aural pleasuring.

If this is the way things are going, what’s next? Is the Sega Game Gear going to start competing with the Nintendo DS? Or how about the Motorola DynaTAC going toe to toe with the Apple iPhone? God, I hope old technology isn’t suddenly going to become uber-cool. I don’t think I could cope.

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Entry was posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pm under Opinion, Technology.

Read more entries by Dave Parrack.
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