Sandisk goes to extremes with latest Memory Stick

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 30 May 2008 19:20

Opinion and Analysis

Yes, it’s a Memory Stick with a mouthful of a name: the Sandisk Extreme III Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo, and with read/write speeds of 30MB per sec, it’s the fastest yet! Sony device owners, start your engines!

Sandisk, co-owner of the Memory Stick Pro Duo format with Sony, has released a new Memory Stick (MS) card, called the MS Pro-HG Duo, which will send some owners of Sony devices into extreme delight at the speed, although whether the price will do likewise is yet to be determined.

That’s because no prices have yet been officially set, but Memory Stick branded cards are almost always quite a bit more expensive than its SD card equivalents, so this time should be no different – especially for a card that definitely feels the need for speed.

The longevity of the Memory Stick format is largely thanks to the fact that Sony is still a major and popular manufacturer of electronic devices people like buying, as the Memory Stick format isn’t generally found in too many other branded devices, aside from memory card readers on desktop and laptop computers.

This is evident when you read that “SanDisk and Sony jointly developed Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo as an extension of the existing Memory Stick PRO format, to offer faster read and write speeds for PRO-HG capable Sony digital SLRs, point-and-shoot cameras and digital camcorders.”

The new Extreme III card has read and write speeds of 30MB per second, will come in 4GB and 8GB sizes, and will go on sale worldwide sometime in June.

Susan Park, director of consumer product marketing for SanDisk’s performance cards, said that: “The SanDisk Extreme III Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo continues our tradition of delivering best-in-class performance in the SanDisk Extreme product line. Our customers know SanDisk Extreme cards not only deliver cutting-edge read and write speeds, but are designed for durability – even under harsh conditions.”

So what are those harsh conditions that Susan Park speaks of? Please read on to page 2.