I was just thinking of this, and it kinda baffled me. Sony came out with the WM-7 in 1982-83, so that means that Aiwa didn't come out with their Logic walkman for 2-3 years after that. I wonder why? Unless there is a Logic Aiwa before the G08/J08 series (1985). Does anyone know?

Good question, as you know, these two manufacturers were joined at the hip at the time so yeah, you'd think there would be more similarities between the ranges.

You have to remember that Aiwa were a lot smaller and their range of players from 80-83 was threadbare, they only had the three of four configurations around the CS-J1 & P02 transport/chassis but Sony were rolling out numerous models around the WM-2, TPS-L2/WM-3, WM-1 themes.

So, it's clear that Sony had the resources and flexibility to be reactive to markets and spend time & money developing new features. In 83/84 they brought us the WM-7, WM-10, WM-15 plus a host of cheaper budget models whilst poor old Aiwa could only give us the superb P07 range of units (Back To The Future model). It's clear also that the current rarity of early Aiwas compared to that of the Sony units is testament to the market share at the time.

I veer off topic slightly but you're answer has t be based around the fact that Aiwa just didn't have the R&D muscle power of Sony during this period. Which could explain the delay in getting a logic model to market. You also have to remember that Sony didn't produce another logic model until the WM-109 in 87 so maybe the perception was that it wasn't really a technology that the public really demanded.

Many possibilities I guess but I favour the fact that Aiwa were a smaller operation at the time. Which I think is a good thing for us collectors in that it makes these Aiwas the rare audio exotica that they are today.