Sony has announced that it is to stop shipping its MiniDisc Walkman in September.
Sony minidisc walkman Sony MZ-N707 MiniDisc Walkman
The company says the move is due to ‘shrinking demand’ but probably comes as a surprise to no-one, following the rather laggardly cancellation of the cassette Walkman last year.
The MiniDisc first launched in 1992 as a smaller and more reliable alternative to the portable CD player, but was eventually overtaken by the iPod and other MP3 players.
For now though, Sony will continue to produce MiniDiscs for the millions of players which are apparently still out there.
The CD Walkman will also remain in production for now, with Sony planning to keep producing them alongside its Walkman MP3 players.