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Sony is releasing a new product, their HF Series cassette tapes. There will be 10, 60, and 90-minute versions and prices are expected to range from around 100 to 230 yen for individual tapes, though they’ll also be available in 10-packs.
Possibly in consideration for its target clientele (hint: not the young), Sony has made the printed font big, as well as made the labels and index sheets easy to write in big letters. As could be expected, the netizen response to this unveiling has been colorful.
-- Is there any demand for this? -- The elderly… -- Shouldn’t they be working on their other products first? -- I totally hope they’ll never stop making AHF, BHF, CHF, and DUAD. -- I heard they sell blank tapes by the boxes to old people taking karaoke lessons. -- (Comment 27:) Cassettes, video tapes, radios – there’s no demand anymore. Mini discs are pretty much obsolete, too. -- @27 Hey man, let me tell you one thing: don’t condescend radios. -- @27 Radios are the life of passenger cars. -- @27 Hey, just because you don’t listen to the radio doesn’t mean the rest of the world isn’t. -- Whoah, this is news from July 2012. -- Enka music apparently sells more in tapes than CDs. -- Man, I remember back when whoever had the biggest boombox was the baddest. -- The elderly who are buying these tapes don’t even know or care about the difference between all those types.
© RocketNews24
18 Comments
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Virtuoso
Oh god, now it's come to this. The writer of a news story fleshes out his copy (over half the total volume) with remarks from anonymous posters on a blog whose source is not even cited. Is this the wave of the future? JT, please say it isn't so.
nahaman
Previous comment on journalistic excellence aside, I think it's great that we can buy good-quality blank cassettes. I own a classic 1994 Honda Beat with a unique original sound system that has a cassette player that sounds as good as the CD changer and a lot better than MP3s. Happy to make some new tapes just to show how good they can sound.
presto345
Good work Sony! Next to CDs and an occasional MD I still use audio cassette tapes all the time. They make for easy music recording off the thousands of stations on the internet that I play back in the car, or in the kitchen while cooking. When I get tired of them, I re-record. I am using TDK 120 minute cassettes right now.
lostrune2
Time to get out my ghetto box!
Badge213
—Whoah, this is news from July 2012.
Foxie
Thanks God for that. I need more of those tapes. I want to tape more music from the radio to listen to in my car just like presto. They are so much easier to handle.
Serrano
"did we ever truly leave them ( audio cassette tapes ) behind?"
I've never left them behind. They work and sound great!
Thomas Anderson
A smartphone can do everything a cassette tape can do and more.
joeshmoe
There is a saying in America, "****If it isn't broken then don't fix it.
I don't know if the Japanese got that message but the elderly who love Enka and Karaoke are using what is familiar. I mean why on earth would they upgrade to Mini-Disc (which of course is nearly obsolete) or why would they even bother with recordable (and easily copyable) CDs? If the cassette player works then just keep using it. Heck one part of Japanese culture that you people forget is that Japanese (especially the older generation) lived through the really tough times and they are absolute troopers when it comes to saving money. Saving money by not buying the latest and greatest digital stuff is smart if you ask me. Japanese people in general are noted for being great savers and the banks just love them because they pay them virtually nothing with regards to interest. Then of course the Japanese banks just loan out that money and make money off of the Japanese people's money. The only difference between that and America is that in America they still pay you something just below or just above 1% interest depending on where you bank. So give the elderly an applause because they are the wise ones !
joeshmoe
Hey Serrano, truth be told, cassettes suck with regards to sound. No where near as good as digital but hey if you're a little bit deaf then yeah they sound good.
LostinNagoya
It is in pace with retro demand. People miss 1970's, 1980's stuff. I surely do.
presto345
It's irrelevant when you listen to your recorded music in the car, in the kitchen, while working in the garden, in the garage, etc.!
Foxie
I agree with presto and besides most of the time I am singing along, so the tapes are just fine because my voice is better than any of those singers anyway. And who cares about the sound quality anyway? My tapes are doing a great job.
Serrano
"A smartphone can do everything a cassette tape can do and more"
But a cassette recorder doesn't cost anywhere near 7,000 + yen a month to operate.
Thomas Anderson
Then buy some sort of a digital recording device or a digital music player then...
Alex Einz
people hardly even use cds... but its great that sony decided to quietly pass away finally due to their irrelevance in 2012
timtak
For english teaching tapes beat the alternatives since you can rewind to precisely the place you want to rewind to.
gogogo
I think quoting twitter should not be considered news.