Data Discman

Data Discman is an <a href="/facts/Electronic_book/yrBWpU8E">electronic book</a> player introduced to the Western market in late 1991 or early 1992 by <a href="/facts/Sony_Corporation/7x4tCtBd">Sony Corporation</a>. It was marketed in the United States to college students and international travelers, but had little success outside Japan. The <a href="/facts/Discman/4YzpBbAR">Discman</a> product name had originally been applied to Sony's range of <a href="/facts/Portable_CD_player/o3PYAmQH">portable CD players</a> such as the <a href="/facts/Discman/4YzpBbAR">Sony Discman</a> D-50, first released in 1984.
The Data Discman was designed to allow quick access to electronic reference information on a pre-recorded <a href="/facts/Electronic_disk/aMHBy8gU">disc</a>. Searching terms were entered using a <a href="/facts/QWERTY/0DCjXEa9">QWERTY</a>-style keyboard and utilized the "Yes" and "No" keys.
A typical Data Discman model has a low resolution small <a href="/facts/Grayscale/Tjb9kR8v">grayscale</a> <a href="/facts/LCD/8B6xGBEz">LCD</a> (256x200 early on, later models would have up to 320x240 and in colour), <a href="/facts/CD_drive/IM9ugGbU">CD drive</a> unit (either <a href="/facts/Mini_CD/BxSG8aP5">Mini CD</a> or full size), and a low-power computer. Early versions of the device were incapable of playing <a href="/facts/Compact_Disc/g51GRloc">audio CDs</a>. Software was prerecorded and usually featured encyclopedias, foreign language dictionaries and novels. It was typically created using the Sony Electronic Book Authoring System (SEBAS).
A DD-1EX Data Discman is in the permanent collection of the <a href="/facts/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum/vUMjeHBn">Victoria and Albert Museum</a> and is currently displayed in the V&A's 20th Century Gallery. This early model did not include the ability to play sound.
An updated model, the DD-10EX, was released in 1992 or 1993. The accompanying manual gives a copyright date of 1992. Unlike the DD-1EX, the DD-10EX also had the ability to play audio files. The British version came with a <a href="/facts/Electronic_disk/aMHBy8gU">disc</a> containing the Thomson Electronic Directory for April 1992, plus another containing the Pocket Interpreter 5-language conversation book for travelers. A DD-10EX was included in an exhibition entitled The Book and Beyond: Electronic Publishing and the Art of the Book, held at the <a href="/facts/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum/vUMjeHBn">Victoria and Albert Museum</a>, London, from April to October 1995. The exhibition also included a <a href="/facts/CD-ROM/JwuaYLJv">CD-ROM</a> designed to be played on the Data Discman, entitled Library of the Future and published in 1993.
The DD-1EX and DD-10EX both made use of a <a href="/facts/Flip_(form)/pCR2wwHQ">flip or clamshell</a> form, while the flat, rectangular design of the DD-8 was closer to later e-book readers such as the <a href="/facts/Amazon_Kindle/cmCbmvEs">Amazon Kindle</a>.

Data Discman open-in-new

Data Discman