What Types of Memory Stick Media are Available?

Memory Stick media was first launched by Sony in 1998, and has received several revisions since then. The original format is no longer in use, but its name is still used in general to describe similar types of products. They are used in Sony and Sony Ericsson products for the most part.

The original Memory Stick media ranged in size from 4MB to 128MB in size, however could not expand to include more then 128MB of storage due to architectural limitations. In response to this, Sony developed the Memory Stick Select (http://www.oempcworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=MSG ) first, which is similar to having two sticks sharing the same case. To switch from one to the other, a physical switch is flipped, and it switches from one partition to the other. While potentially offering more space, the Memory Stick Select was unpopular due to the inconvenience of having separate pieces of memory that could not work together in the same device.

Sony's next offering is the Memory Stick Pro (http://www.oempcworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=MSP), which solved the space limitation and allows for up to 4GB of data, a great increase over the original. Even better, it was backwards compatible with the majority of the older devices. While the 4GB modules (http://www.oempcworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MSP4096&Category_Code=MSP) are somewhat expensive at $90, 2GB (http://www.oempcworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MSP2048&Category_Code=MSP) and lower modules are easily affordable, all for under $60, and many for less then $30.

Currently Sony has three other versions of the Memory Stick on the market - the Memory Stick Duo and Pro Duo (http://www.oempcworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=MSP), and the Memory Stick Micro (http://www.oempcworld.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=M2). The Duo is smaller then the original, about two thirds of the size. However, it comes with an adapter to let it plug into normal stick readers. The Duo comes in the same capacity as the original Memory Stick, while the Pro Duo has expanded storage capability, like the Pro. The two versions were created for use in smaller, pocket-sized cameras and cell phones.

The Memory Stick Micro was created to compete against the microSD standard. The two devices are almost exactly the same size, with the Micro being only a millimeter larger in total. While it is more expensive, it is also twice as fast as microSD memory, transferring data at 20MB/second as opposed to 10MB/sec.

So if you have a camera or other device that uses Memory Stick media, take a look at the memory selection utility below. Just enter the model of your product, and our system can tell you what type of memory you need for that device. Or if you already know, take a look at the Flash Memory section, where you'll be able to find what you are looking for.