> When the state of the art is the Sony Walkman...

The author either wasn't around in the 90s, or thinks Apple invented the MP3 player.

The first MP3 player appeared 4 years before the iPod. In the U.S., the Diamond Rio was fairly well known, at least in tech circles (i.e., people who knew what an mp3 was).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_media_player

I've always assumed Apple gained an immense advantage in MP3 players by not being first to market.