Memorystick Duo
Memorystick Duo I've been meaning to post this for a week now but I was in Sakuraya and noticed the new Sony CD Mavicas.  They are HUGE!!  I have to wonder how long the batteries last burning a CD.  I'm not sure I think it's a good idea to burn CDs directly from the camera.  It would be heavy and you'd have alot more CDs since those CDs only hold 156meg or something like that.  At least the Sharp CD camera hold 720meg on much smaller discs but of course those disc require special readers.

Anyway, I reached for a brochure because I was curious if they had battery life written down (they claim 75 minutes) and instead I picked up a brochure for memorystick products and it had information on the new memorystick duo which according the brochure is supposed to be introduced this year.  Here's some pictures and translations of what it said

As you can see the memorystick duo is almost half the size of the old memorysticks.

Memorystick Duo Walkman:
The Memorystick Walkman introduced small. The Duo will allow SUPER small. Not only small but freedom of size. Keyholder, Lightweight Headphones, etc, I looks like they will introduce several unique models.

MemoryStick Duo Camera:
CybershotP1 proved that small has merit. The Memorystick Duo will make it possible for fingertip sizes.

(Note: My take the Cybershot P1 is that Sony has convinced people that it's small when in reality it's larger than at least 3 other cameras that were already out well before the P1.  The Canon Digital ELPH,  The Fuji Finepix 40i and at least one other but because of Sony's awesome marketing nobody seems to notice.  I've been to the electronic stores with friends who see the P1 and say "Wow!! That's really small" even though smaller cameras are sitting right next to it!!!

MemoryStick Duo Wristwatch:
A Watch with a Memorystick Duo Slot. Through a Duo you can enter software, data..Watch + PDA + Viewer.

Memorystick Duo CAM:
Using Duo Media they can make Waterproof Sports Types, Accessory like cameras. Not just still pictures video as well.

Memorystick Duo MusiCAM:
Camera and Walkman combined

This year they introduced 128meg Memorysticks. From 2002 
to 2003 they are planning to introduce 256meg, 512meg and 
1gig models.

Comments:

The human race is doomed! [ e ]

The developments Sony has brought to our world is indeed facinating. But where does miniaturising end? Some of those Duo compatible products are so small they've become borderline useless! As a designer who studies ergonomics, i think all these gadgets were designed so that they're easy to lose *manufacturers make extra money that way :)* just look at those Nokia and Motorola mobile phones (8210, V-series, etc) with buttons so small it makes writing SMS an adventure. And to think the Japanese phones are even smaller!

Pessimism aside *and being a gadget freak myself!*, Sony really does make innovative products. I think most of us are greatful for that. Lets hope some of them reach our shores.

posted by azlanJune 19, 2001 at 14:03

The human race is saved [ e ]

I look at it in the opposite way. Digital cameras are saving the environment. My Mom, Dad, Sister, Uncles and one Grandmother are all wired so for example when I brought my Nephew to Japan and took a couple hundred pictures I was able to send copies of all of them to my sister and my mother and my grandmother for the cost of 1 blank CD. That's alot more environment friendly than having made 600 photos.

I think most people that have digital camers develop less of there photos than they did with film cameras. They share through CDs, webpages and e-mail.

I still believe in the paper-less office. It maybe 10 years, 20 or more but I believe it's comming. Especially with several companies working on digital paper. Looks just like regular paper but is actually a computer display. As an example you could have 3 or 4 magazines of the stuff and then just download your magazines, no more printing required. Or have a novel size book of the stuff and just download your novels. No more wasting trees on making books, no more wasting gas, tires and oil transporting them. I'm not saying I won't want books anymore but I suspect if they actually do perfect it that alot of things we waste paper on now will go away.

I know people have a hard time excepting that. The problem I think is they can't imagine that a digital book will look EXACTLY like a a real book. They think it will look like the current e-books which are a joke. Instead, with digital paper, the books will be the same as a real book. Same weight, same flexibility, same size, same resolution, the only difference will be you can change the contents and maybe the texture of the paper (just like newspaper, novels, regular magazines and wired magazine all have different textures).

I also don't think the phones are too small (yet). The Japanese phones are small but watching a Japanese teenager type 15 words a minute on them I don't think they are too small (yet). I personally e-mail myself a few times a day. Instead of writing a note if I see something interesting or have a thought I want to remember I just e-mail my home address with a note. I haven't had any problems pressing the buttons.

posted by greggmanJune 21, 2001 at 14:51