A digital audio player, sometimes referred to as an MP3 player, is a consumer electronics device that has the primary function of storing, organizing and playing audio files. Some DAPs are also referred to as portable media players as they have image-viewing and/or video-playing support. The immediate predecessor in the market place of the digital audio player was the portable CD player, which was sometimes referred to as a "portable audio device." Kane Kramer designed one of the earliest digital audio players, which he called the IXI.

His 1979 prototype was capable of approximately 3.5 minutes of audio playback but it did not enter commercial production. The related patents expired in 1988. Apple Inc.

hired Kramer as a consultant and presented his work as an example of prior art in the field of digital audio players during their litigation with Burst.com almost two decades later.

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