Sony Walkman was one of the most iconic pieces of personal tech. As the first commercially available personal cassette player, the Sony Walkman TPS-L2 revolutionized portable music consumption in more ways than one. Now, as retro becomes the new modern, the TPS-L2 forms an inspiration for the ERA – Portable Cassette Tape Player that intends to match the vintage with a modern outlook.
Gen-Z considers cassette tapes vintage artifacts, but the incredible innovation has allowed the music industry to ripple through the years to reach the subsistence today. In the years of prime, it permitted music to be shared through recordings to each individual with access to cassette players: personal or otherwise.
Designer: Hugo Jonasson
Despite all the modernization, cassettes still have a role in the industry. Major artists are joining indie creators in the tape renaissance and taking advantage of retro tech. The trend in parts explains the rise in cassette sales in the past couple of years. Designer Hugo Jonasson wants to be the early adaptor of resurgence, a reason he has conceived the ERA – Portable Cassette Tape Player that draws inspiration from the past but has its footing in the modern environment.
This retro-modern portable cassette player boasts Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity and has a 3.5mm jack to let you plug in a headphone of choice. To become slightly more modern than the Walkman from the bygone era, the ERA features a small display beside the physical play/pause and track change buttons. Separating the buttons and the display is the volume knob akin to one in the radio set of the yesteryears.
The ERA can connect with the smartphone, presumably over Bluetooth, to display the battery status, the current track, and more important information. If you’re an audiophile with no bias to the medium you’re consuming your favorite music on, as long as it is pleasing to the ears, portable cassette players like the ERA deserve your attention.
