An ancestor of modern-day personal audio devices such as the iPod, the Stereobelt was a portable stereo audiocassette player invented in the year 1972 by the German Andreas Pavel. iPod is a brand of portable digital media player designed and marketed by Apple Computer. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

A former television executive and book editor, Pavel invented the Stereobelt to "add a soundtrack to real life" by allowing the user to play high-fidelity music through headphones while participating in daily activities. High fidelity or hi-fi reproduction means the reproduction of sound or images in a way that is very faithful to the original. ... Closed headphones Earbuds or earphones Headphones (also known as earphones, stereophones, headsets, or the slang term cans) are a pair of transducers that receive an electrical signal from a media player or receiver and use speakers placed in close proximity to the ears (hence the name earphone) to convert the...

The initial test of the device took place in February 1972 in St. Moritz, Switzerland, when Pavel pushed the play button to start the song "Push Push" by Herbie Mann and Duane Allman. Pavel experienced a "floating" sensation as he listened to the music and watched the mountain snow fall, realizing that his new device could provide "the means to multiply the aesthetic potential of any situation." St. ... Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), better known as Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flutist and important practitioner of world music. ... Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) is generally regarded as one of the greatest rock and roll guitarists, noted for his mastery of the slide guitar as well as intensity and soulfulness on regular lead and rhythm guitar in a variety of styles. ...

Pavel approached electronics manufacturers such as ITT, Grundig, Yamaha and Philips with his invention, but the companies felt the public would never wear headphones in public for listening to music. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Manufacturer of home entertainment equipment, established after WW2 in Nuremberg/ Germany. ... A manufacturer of a diverse range of musical instruments and electronics. ... Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (Euronext: PHIA, NYSE: PHG) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. ...

Frustrated with his lack of progress, and learning that it was important to protect his idea, Pavel finally filed a patent for the Stereobelt in Italy in 1977, followed by with patent applications in the U.S., Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan by the end of 1978. A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive and...

Sony began selling the very similar Walkman personal stereo in 1979. In negotiations that began in 1980 and ended in 1986, Sony agreed to pay Pavel limited royalties for the sales of certain Walkman models sold in his home country of Germany only. Sony Corporation (Japanese katakana: ソニー) (TYO: 6758 , NYSE: SNE) is a global Japanese consumer electronics corporation based in Tokyo, Japan. ... SONY Recorder Walkman (TCM-S68V) MD Walkman Sony Walkman SRF-S84 transistor radio (released 2001), without earbuds The latest MP3 Walkman, the NW-A3000 The Sony Walkman personal stereo was a transistorized miniature portable cassette tape player invented by Akio Morita, Masaru Ibuka, and Kozo Ohsone, manufactured by Sony Corporation. ...

A second round of legal battles between Pavel and Sony that began in 1989 in Great Britain ended when the case was dismissed in 1996, leaving Pavel to pay more than $3 million in court costs.

Finally in 2003, with Pavel threatening to file infringement lawsuits in the other territories where he holds patents, Sony agreed to settle out of court. The settlement was reported to be a cash payment of over $10,000,000 and ongoing royalties of the sale of certain Walkman models.

References

• Rohter, Larry. Dec 17, 2005. An Unlikely Trendsetter Made Earphones a Way of Life. The New York Times (Accessed on Dec 17, 2005 at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/17/international/americas/17pavel.html )
  • Portable stereo's creator got his due, eventually (Accessed on Dec 17, 2005)

See also

• Andreas Pavel
• Walkman