As recently as 20 years ago, music wasn’t as portable as we would have liked. Walkman’s were great, but only suited to cassette tapes. Portable CD players were bulky and skipped a lot. Anyone who was interested in carrying their music with them often were forced to deal with technology that wasn’t quite up to par - even worse the devises often consumed several batteries in just a few hours. Perhaps it is because music is such an integral part of our culture that developers set out to design a better way to bring the music with us – their answer was the digital media player.
Even the digital media player itself has seen several reincarnations over the years. The original technology, which was partially based on technology designed to allow computer users to easily carry files with them, was imperfect. The original players didn’t have a great deal of memory and were quite expensive. Still, many people began to turn to them for their music needs.
Like most technologies, after a few years and a few more manufacturers, the digital media player revolution was in full swing. Companies competed to provide their customers with smaller units that had greater memory and better sound than any other player did. Next came advances such as color and touch screen technology. The result has been relatively inexpensive players that can hold thousands of songs, pictures, audio books and other forms of digital media.
Today, developers are seeking even better ways to provide users with entertainment value. It is not uncommon to find players for under $200 that are video capable. The devices, which often fit in the palm of the hand, provide users with a way to enjoy everything from their favorite song to a television show.
We have certainly come a long way from the days of the walkman. In fact, today’s generation would likely laugh at the large contraptions we strapped to our hips. Because of the importance of music, it is likely that we will continue to see advances in the technology that provided us with digital media players.