Hiroshi Ogawa is a researcher at the Technical Research Institute of Sony's Tape Recording Division.

The Walkman, which is now becoming a trend, is one of the works that his research institute has led to develop and complete.

As far as he knows, the Walkman has been out of stock in retail stores for 5 consecutive months.

At present, it is still in short supply, which means that Sony will sell as many Walkmans as it produces in the past few months.

As its developer, Hiroshi Ogawa not only gained a great sense of accomplishment, but also received a generous bonus in the feeding list received in the past two days.

Although he soon had to devote himself to the development of CD technology, he still took to the streets every morning to see the people who were running with their Walkman for morning exercises.

Or buy two audio magazines and flip through the editors' rumors about your Walkman.

Today, Hiroshi Ogawa went to the convenience store in front of his house as usual and took down an audio magazine from the journal shelf.

《Stereo Sound》？ Well, it is currently the most authoritative audio and record magazine in Japan.

Hiroshi Ogawa spread out the cover to see what kind of name he was going to give to the Walkman.

《Flashman！ Rival of the Walkman! The spoiler of Sony's audiovisual empire? 》

Well? Ogawa Hiroshi was stunned, and he glanced back at the journal shelves.

There are also many copies of Stereo Sound, and the cover title is the same as the magazine in hand.

It's true that I read it right, he can understand that the name of the Walkman appears on the cover, but what the hell is this flashman?

It was at this time that he noticed that the cover photo of the magazine was not his Walkman, but a similar Walkman.

Hiroshi Ogawa sighed in his heart, he put down the shopping bag he was carrying in his other hand, spread out the magazine with both hands, and quickly flipped through it.

But don't bother too much, the opening article of the stereo magazine is a detailed introduction to this so-called flashman.

"Hello everyone, I'm Tomoki Harada. In this issue, I will introduce you to a new portable stereo player.

Before introducing it, you music lovers must know or already own Sony's first Walkman.

Its innovative design has dramatically changed the way we listen to music.

From now on, music is no longer a vinyl record player fixed at home, but an entertainment activity that can be taken out of the house and enjoyed anytime, anywhere.

And our protagonist in this issue, Flashman (see the picture below), is also a similar product designed based on this principle.

To be honest, from a creative point of view, I don't feel that it is any different from Sony's Walkman, and even some functions are much more "shabby" than Sony's Walkman.

But why focus on it today? Let's take a look at what makes this Flashman unique.

First of all, as you can see, it's so beautiful that you can even find four different colors in the electronics store.

I don't know what kind of processing technology is used in this flashman, and every color is dazzling.

Especially the lovely pink gold, which has almost become a "holy product" that girls are enthusiastically pursuing.

The author visited a few stores at random, and without exception, the pink and gold flashmans were all out of stock.

Presumably, during the Christmas season that has just passed, it is the most desirable Christmas gift for many girls.

In short, in terms of visual effects alone, flashman beats Walkman, after all, Sony's tough mechanical style is not something that all girls will like.

Another thing that impresses the author about Flashman is its small size, which is different from the way Sony wears it around the waist.

The Flashman can even fit into any of his pockets, which is another reason to refuse.

However, what surprised the author the most and deeply shocked me was the earbud headphones that Flashman matched.

That's right, earbuds.

This is designed by Shirakawa Electric and can be tucked directly into the ear, and it is only the size of a small thumb.

Its appearance, just like the Walkman, is definitely a genius idea, and even has epoch-making significance.

Can you imagine a headset that is not worn on your hair and can be adjusted at will without affecting everyone's hairstyle or free movement?

Can you imagine a headset that can be crumpled up and hidden under the palm of your hand, or tucked into any pocket on your body?

The answer is these in-ear headphones from Flashman.

In the author's eyes, Flashman's earbuds are more attractive than the machine itself.

And after listening to it, it also strengthened the author's idea, although it seems unremarkable.

But its timbre is not inferior to that of most headphones on the market.

The timbre is warm and mellow, and even the most original flavor of vinyl sound is contained in it.

In short, for this flashman, the author can make a bold prediction.

In the future, it will definitely be the strongest opponent of the Walkman, and even the audition empire that Sony is bent on building will usher in a spoiler. ”

Hiroshi Ogawa put down the magazine in his hand, and his head was a little confused.

Does Sony license other companies to produce Walkmans?

No, even the Aihua Company, which has a close relationship with it, has been going around for a long time without getting the nod of permission from Oga Nori-san.

So how is this Shirakawa Electric produced?

Hiroshi Ogawa turned outside the door, where a young man who was on a morning jog happened to pass by.

The blue Walkman pinned to his waist is very conspicuous, but why are the headphones tucked directly into the ear?

After being stunned for two seconds, Hiroshi Ogawa picked up the magazine in his hand and ran away, he needed to catch the first subway to Sony's headquarters in Shinagawa Ward.

"Sir, sir, you haven't paid yet!"

…

Not to mention the speed of life and death staged here at the convenience store, the office of the president of Shirakawa Electric.

Shirakawa Kaede put down the magazine in his hand and nodded with satisfaction at Hasegawa who was standing in front of him,

"Hasegawa-san, good job.

Stereo magazines are still very authoritative, especially for the majority of audiophiles, and almost every issue will not be left behind.

With their help in publicity, Flashman is considered to be a big hit in the eyes of the public. ”

However, Hasegawa, who was praised, looked embarrassed, "President, stereo magazine is not our PR target..."

"Huh?" Bai Chuan Feng was stunned, he picked up the magazine on the table again and shook it, "So..."

Hasegawa nodded wryly, after all, it is the most authoritative audio magazine, how can it be possible to accept the public relations of a little-known small club.

And the content in the magazine is not all praise, such as the similarities between the flashman and the Walkman.

There is also the shabby functional design, and the button module that is so streamlined that it can't be more streamlined.

The overall evaluation is decent, but the features of Flashman are not less than that.

Shirakawa Kaede smiled dumbly, okay, just achieve your goal.

If you want to keep that unruly look, keep it up.

"In short, it's not a bad thing. At least the popularity will be on the next level, and it will also save us a lot of advertising costs. ”

It is true, after all, in the eyes of most people, "Stereo Magazine" is still very compelling, and being on their cover is a kind of great publicity in itself.

This is equivalent to putting a layer of qualification certification on Flashman from the professional audio field, which is a good thing~

"By the way, President, there's another thing." Hasegawa wanted to say something, but his gaze was a little strange.

"Hasegawa-san, please feel free."

"Well, today we received a lot of calls from retail stores asking if we would like to sell the Flashman headset separately."

Shirakawa Kaede was stunned, this...

Thank you all for your support!

(End of chapter)