<Tr> <Th> Developed by </Th> <Td> Philips </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Usage </Th> <Td> Audio and data storage </Td> </Tr> <P> The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback . It was released by Philips in 1962, having been developed in Hasselt, Belgium . Compact cassettes come in two forms, either already containing content as a pre-recorded cassette, or as a fully recordable "blank" cassette . Both forms are reversible by the user . </P> <P> The compact cassette technology was originally designed for dictation machines, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8 - track cartridge and reel - to - reel tape recording in most non-professional applications . Its uses ranged from portable audio to home recording to data storage for early microcomputers . The first cassette player (although mono) designed for use in car dashes was introduced in 1968 . Between the early 1970s and the early 2000s, the cassette was one of the two most common formats for prerecorded music, first alongside the LP record and later the compact disc (CD). </P>

When did the first cassette tape come out