 |
The following information is true and accurate at the time of publication.
August 19, 2003
Memory Stick Platform Strategy to Support Miniaturization and High-Speed Data Transfer
August 15, 2003, Europe and USA, August
19, 2003 Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation today announced
the introduction of new lines of "Memory Stick DuoTM"
leading to enhanced miniaturization of media to coincide
with current miniaturization trends and lighter Memory Stick
enabled products, such as cellular phones and portable audio
players.
Memory Stick Duo launched in July 2002 at one-third the
volume and half the weight of standard-size Memory Stick
has realized further miniaturization and lighter compatible
products and succeeded in expanding the range of applications.
While Memory Stick compatible products have become smaller
and lighter, stored content has become increasingly diverse
and demands for large memory have continued to increase
along with the growth of broadband networks. In addition,
the broadband era has resulted in increased needs for high-speed
data transfer as well. In response to all such needs, additional
lines of Memory Stick Duo will be added to the Memory Stick
family.
The newly introduced Memory Stick Duo maintains high compatibility
with existing Memory Stick compatible products. Equipped
with a parallel interface, the Memory Stick Duo can achieve
a theoretical maximum data transfer speed of up to 160Mbps*.
This enables faster read-out of large data than ever before.
The new Memory Stick Duo can also be used with current compatible
products via a serial interface.
* When combined with compatible products
with a parallel interface.
Read-out and write access speeds vary by and are dependent
upon the design of host devices.
In addition, with MagicGateTM copyright protection technology
included in the media as a standard feature, the newly introduced
Memory Stick Duo enables secure distribution of commercial
content. The number and variety of compatible products are
anticipated to expand even further and from the end of September
2003 users can expect to enjoy increased convenience with
the worldwide availability of the new Memory Stick Duo in
32MB, 64MB and 128MB capacities.
The new generation Memory Stick "Memory Stick PROTM"
jointly developed by SanDisk and Sony was announced early
2003 and launched worldwide in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB capacities
in March 2003. The newly introduced Memory Stick PRO DuoTM
achieves compact size while maintaining the advanced technology
and future expandability realized with the Memory Stick
PRO format. Used in combination with compatible products
optimized for the Memory Stick PRO format, Memory Stick
PRO Duo can provide users with high levels of performance,
such as the recording of high-resolution moving images.
*Memory Stick PRO media features vary by
and are dependent upon the design of host devices.
Furthermore, by incorporating the media with MagicGate copyright
protection technology, it is anticipated that the Memory
Stick PRO Duo, as a truly next-generation media, will lead
to an expansion of applications due to its ability to ensure
a highly secure means of commercial content distribution.
Along with the rapid growth of broadband networks as well
as the evolution of media and compatible products, the ability
to respond to advanced and diversified next-generation applications,
such as the recording of high-resolution moving images,
has become an essential requirement of memory cards. The
Memory Stick PRO Duo equipped with advanced features in
supporting miniaturization will become available worldwide
in 256MB and 512MB capacities from the end of September
and October 2003 respectively.
The new Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo will facilitate
adoption of Memory Stick media and compatible products via
a broader range of product categories. Cumulative shipments
of Memory Stick media including the new Memory Stick Duo
lines are expected to reach 130 million units in 2004 and
210 million in 2005. Cumulative shipments of Memory Stick
compatible products are expected to dramatically exceed
initial expectations made at the time of the media's market
launch, reaching 125 million units in 2004 and 200 million
in 2005.
The addition of new Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO
Duo to the Memory Stick lineup will enable Memory Stick
to evolve and enrich its lineup as a platform to link users
to a variety of broadband era content and services.
* In general, the system name and product name indicated
are the registered trademark or trademark of each company
responsible for development.
|
|
|
|
