- Sony’s first product was a rice cooker.
- Sony establishes its first major overseas operation in New York City (514 Broadway) in 1960 with a capital investment of $500,000.
- Sony becomes the first Japanese company in the United States to make a public offering of 2 million shares of common stock in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADRs) in 1961.
- In 1986, Walkman was included in the Oxford English Dictionary.
- Before the Walkman personal stereo became a worldwide brand name, it was introduced under a variety of names, including the Soundabout in the U.S., the Stowaway in the UK and the Freestyle in Australia.
15 More Things You May Not Know About Sony
While most of you were probably not even born, Sony was already pioneering with lots of firsts:
- 1950: Introduces Soni-Tape KA Series, Japan’s first practical magnetic recording tape using a paper-based film.
- 1955: Introduces the first transistor radio in Japan.
- 1960: Introduces the world’s first fully transistorized, portable B&W TV in Japan.
- 1962: Debuts world’s smallest and lightest television, the 5-inch micro TV-5-303.
- 1965: Markets world’s first home-use videotape recorder, the CV-2000.
- 1966: Introduces the world’s first color home videotape recorder.
- 1967: Introduces the world’s first portable VTR, the DV-2400.
- 1968: Markets the world’s first integrated circuit radio, the ICR-100, which weighs approximately 3 ounces and is one-half the size of a pack of cigarettes.
- 1979: Introduces the Walkman® TPS-L2 personal stereo, changing forever the way the American public listens to music.
- 1980: Markets the world’s first commercial color video camera to utilize a completely solid state image sensor called a charge-coupled-device (CCD). It is also the smallest camera (weighing only 2.8 pounds) on the market.
- 1981: Introduces first compact Walkman personal stereo (model WM-2). Introduces first 3.5-inch micro floppy disk drive.
- 1982: Introduces first recording Walkman personal stereo. Introduces first Walkman personal stereo with a built-in tuner. Introduces the world’s first CD player, the CDP-101.
- 1990: Introduces the first writable CD.
- 1997: Introduces compact disc rewritable (CD-RW) media, bringing writing, erasing and rewriting capabilities to CD technology.
- 2000: Sony’s HDW-F900 Camcorder with digital 24-frame progressive high definition technology was used to shoot Star Wars: Episode II.
Source: Sony