Hit rewind: Walkman triggers nostalgia at 40th birthday show

TOKYO - Must-have 1980s gadget and one-time icon of Japan electronics cool, Sony's Walkman turned 40 this year and, like its now middle-aged fans, is clinging to its youth with high-tech updates.

On July 1, 1979, as the global economy suffered through the second oil shock, Sony unleashed on the world a dark-blue brick of a machine with chunky silver buttons, the Walkman TPS-L2.

Priced at a hefty 33,000 yen ($300 in today's money), the first generation Walkman could not record but its stereo music playback function quickly captured hearts in Japan and then the world.