A new version of Sony's Memory Stick will hit the market this week, targeting small devices, such as handsets and digital audio players. Sony will start selling the first 16-megabyte Memory Stick Duo cards in Japan on Saturday for about 2,800 yen (about HK$187).
The Memory Stick Duo, 30 per cent smaller than the current Stick, can be used in regular Stick slots with an adaptor.
The Memory Stick was developed to store and transfer digital images, videos, music and other data. More than 250 companies have agreed to support Sony's storage standard, including Motorola, Palm, Kenwood and LG Electronics. By March, more than 20 million Memory Stick-supporting products had been shipped worldwide.
On Monday, Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo released a new mobile phone, the i-shot mova D25li, which supports the new cards. The handset has a built-in camera, and images can be stored on an 8MB Memory Stick Duo card that comes with the phone.
Sony said it would introduce the Memory Stick Duo in Hong Kong soon, but did not announce a launch date.
According to International Data Corp's report on worldwide flash memory card sales, Compact Flash (CF) continues to lead the market with 15 million units shipped last year. The research firm expects a further 15 million CF cards to ship this year, 18 million next year and 20 million in 2004.
Three million Secure Digital (SD) cards were shipped last year, with six million forecast for this year. IDC predicts the number will jump to 13 million in 2003 and 36 million in 2004, surpassing CF. Adoption of the Memory Stick is expected to catch up, growing from 10 million last year to 30 million in 2004.