PROFILE AMERICA

July 22, 2008

Portable Music

We pretty well take for granted the ability to carry our favorite music with us wherever we go — whether its jogging, riding the bus, or lying on the beach.

It was 29 years ago this week that Sony introduced the Walkman — under the name Soundabout, selling for $200. It was an immediate hit, bordering on a social phenomenon and changed the way consumers listened to music.

The first models only played cassette tapes, but radios were added soon afterward. Now, you can download hours of music in the MP3 format to take with you anywhere in small devices such as the iPod.

Each year, Americans spend an average of about $50 on recorded music and 180 hours listening to their collections.

You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.