1985 WM-F101
The WM-F101 is a Walkman with a built-in radio.
1985
WM-101
The WM-101 is a playback-only Walkman with an automatic inversion function. It features Dolby B and is compatible with AA batteries and gum-type rechargeable batteries. It is an early high-performance model that combines automatic inversion and noise reduction functions.
Sony had already experimented with fold-down mechanisms to shrink the Walkman, but the WM-101 treated thinness as a permanent design choice. It moved past the collapsible frames of the WM-10 and WM-20 and established a flat, compact form as a fixed design requirement rather than a mechanical trick.
It marked the moment when flat proportion became a standard rather than an experiment. The design required a new approach to power. A standard AA cell could not fit beside the transport in such a narrow enclosure, so a slim rechargeable battery was introduced to keep the layout compact. It provided several hours of playback, and an external AA attachment extended runtime when needed.
This arrangement became the template for many compact Walkmans that followed during the late eighties and early nineties. The WM-101 distilled the Walkman into a thin, self-contained form where size, power, and simplicity were resolved as a single design constraint.
See also WM-D3
