Sony Memory Stick (1998 – mid 2000s)

Memory Stick is a flash memory card format, introduced by Sony in 1998. It’s capacity ranged from 4 MB to 128 MB, though a version called Memory Stick Select version had two 128MB memory banks with a tiny switch for selecting one or the other.

Among other applications, Sony used Memory Stick in its professional digital cameras from 1998, either using a PCMCIA adaptor, or subsequently in a dedicated slot. In 2000, Sony’s Mavica line of digital cameras also started to use Memory Stick, initially via an adaptor that used the floppy disk slot, and from 2001 in a dedicated slot.

The Memory Stick PRO, introduced in 2003 was a joint effort between Sony and SanDisk, offering a much larger capacity.

A smaller variation of Memory Stick, the Memory Stick Duo was introduced in 2003 to meet the need for a smaller card for mobile phones, small digital cameras and the PlayStation Portable, and in 2006 an even smaller variant, Memory Stick Micro (M2) was introduced.

By 2007, the original format of Memory Stick was no longer available through the Sony UK website. Sony now manufactures its own line of Secure Digital cards.

Figures

Dimensions: 50 mm × 21.5 mm × 2.75 mm

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