Is it true?

 

I saw the headline and couldn’t believe it. Is… is the Walkman still around?

 

Sure enough there it is: “Enjoy music the way you want it with the W508 Walkman phone,” the news reads.

 

Oh joy. Now I can tell my kids no, Dad’s not going senile.

 

There’s nothing that sends my kids’ eyes rolling, smirking behind their hands or wondering if they’ll have to institutionalize the old man faster than my calling an iPod a Walkman. As in, “Hey I’m going to drive to Warkworth, anybody seen my Walkman?” Forehead smack. Here it comes.

 

(snicker )”Sure Dad, I think you left it in 1981.”

 

I remember how my dad used to call the refrigerator the “icebox,” blue jeans “dungarees” and Ajax “Bab-O.” I’d get that uncomfortable, sinking feeling – “Dad’s failing fast.” To see that same look in my kids’ eyes, well - makes you feel as old as the first time you signed a check or used the phrase “when I was in college."

 

“The W508 Walkman phone builds on our iconic Walkman range and the W380,” says Alexandre Cardon, Global Product Marketing Manager (music) at Sony Ericsson (News - Alert). “For those who like to express their style and individuality through their mobile phone we’ve brought our creative design team in to design stylish changeable covers so that W508 offers a truly interactive and individual experience.”

 

I can’t tell you how good, how… vindicated I feel, knowing the Walkman’s alive and well into 2009. Out of sheer gratitude, fluff away.

 

Evidently it now has “Shake control and Gesture control,” according to Sony officials, who describe them as functions that allows users to “become your own DJ with just a flick of your wrist - raise the volume or set the shuffle function by giving your phone a quick shake.”

 

The W508 also includes such Walkman features such as SensMe, “for matching your mood to the music and touch keys on top to play, stop and skip tracks. A 3.2 megapixel camera, HSDPA and 1GB M2 card completes the W508 offering,” Sony officials say.

 

Here’s one feature I sure wish my old Walkman had: “Can’t get that song out of your head but have no idea what it’s called? Use TrackID with text search and you’ll have the answer at a touch of a button.”

 

Okay, so it’s not the clunky old cassette player we all thought was so streamlined in 1978. Still, the shake to get to the next song and adjust volume features do sound cool.

 

And it still exists. Guess what my kids are each getting for their birthday? That’s right – and when they lose them, as they do everything, I’ll be right there when they ask “Hey Dad, seen my Walkman around?” You’ll hear me laughing from wherever you are.