MiniDiscs: The Scoop
Well, what are MiniDiscs in the first place? At first glance, they almost look like little floppy disks. In reality, they are small disks, but rather than holding data, they hold audio. Introduced by Sony in 1992, they seemed to be almost a replacement for the cassette-based Walkmans: instead of having a large tape, you had a small box with a disc in it, which allowed for high-quality digital sound, as well as easy editing of tracks and recording. The MD Walkmans were square, about 2.5 by 2.5 inches, and they had a small display which allowed you to see information about the song, such as its name, the artist, and other info that was entered (year, genre). MiniDisc decks were also sold: they were more advanced than regular tape decks, as they allowed you to enter information about the song, and the length of the song showed as it was playing. In the end, though, the MiniDisc didn't sell well: only 50,000 were sold worldwide in their first year. The cost was too high ($750) in the US, and those who it was marketed to (initially teenagers and younger people) couldn't afford them, so they continued purchasing cassette tapes and CD's.