Sony Ericsson ditching Memory Stick Micro cards in favor of MicroSD
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jun 1st 2009 5:46PM
posted Jun 1st 2009 5:46PM
Sony Ericsson already tipped its hand by including nothing but plain old microSD in its recently announced Satio, Yari and Aino phones (not to mention the K850 even further back), but it looks like TrustedReviews has now gotten the official word straight from the source: SE is dropping Sony's own Memory Stick Micro format (or M2) in favor of the decidedly more standard microSD. While it's not clear if that'll be a clean break from here on out or not, Sony Ericsson Global Marketing Director Fortuné Alexander did say that the company is "moving in that direction," and at least a few more still unannounced handsets have apparently already made the switch. Next thing you know Sony will be dumping UMD. Oh wait.
they should've done this long time ago!!! lucky the PSP Go will have microSD slot
Uh according to the Engadget PSP Go article, it says it has a Memory Stick Micro slot.
Will it? I heard that it had the Memory Stick Micro. I hope I am wrong. Not that I'd buy that ugly, no dual analog thing anyways.
i'm burying not because of the comment, but because of the distaste of Sony using Memory Stick Micro, when they could have easily used MicroSDHC :|
i've got a couple MSPD's w/ my PSP now, and a MicroSDHC-> MSPD for the flavors of MicroSDHC that I have (1gb->16gb), now what Sony?!
I'm thinking that this is only a decision by Sony-Ericsson, since there have been several indications that it and Sony haven't been getting along. Normal Sony products, such as cameras, camcorders, the PSP, and others, are still using the memory stick standard, including the MS micro. For Sony itself to actually ditch memory stick would be... unthinkable.
But really, memory stick right now is the second dumbest format out there (the crown going to xD). About 10x the price, only usable in Sony products, manufactured by only a handful of companies, and limited in capacity. However, since pretty much all Sony products still use it, it's going to be with us for the foreseeable future, as Sony will "stick" with it.
Actually, Sony's SLRs have SDHC support now, in addition to MS. So, they're migrating towards SD even for their own stuff.
Sony's smartest decision ever!
Seriously. Probably the biggest deterrent for me vs. Sony products was their incessant use of proprietary memory.
lol, and the rest!
just as smart as when they started using CompactFlash on their DSLRs
It's about frikkin time!!! Apple doesn't even put a memory expansion slot in the iPhone, they just sell so many phones that they can buy Flash at a huge discount and load up the base model. The profit margin Apple gets on the extra Flash memory in the upgrade model puts Sony's proprietary card formats to shame. On top of that, they take a 30% cut of the revenue to fill the memory with apps and music! Says a lot about Sony's inertia and arrogance that they haven't started trying to copy the Apple business model until now.
At least it suggests Sony is finally willing to move past their 1980's product model of sexy looking, slightly better hardware priced 30% above market average, with most profit margin coming from massively overpriced accessories. Today's massively overpriced accessories all come in downloadable form.
Yeah - All tech SD line UNITY --> uber SD line mass production --> hella low prices.
Please.
Praise the Lord!
agreed.... and it's about time too
One of the deciding factors that I didn't get a Sony camera (a couple years ago)...already had several SD cards and didn't want to re-purchase storage.
Excellent! Now if they could kill all other variations of Memory Stick, we'll be all set.
i agree. Sony is being smart in this one. If Sony get rid of the Sony Memory Stick, to replace it with the SD/microSD like almost all other brand, then I would continue my father's legacy of purchasing from Sony high-end products!
I'm imagining a day when there is no need for such a thing as a 74-card multi reader.
Finally. There isn't much difference between them in the first place and most of the world has embraced SD's.
one shit-proprietary at a time... y'all.
but kudos.
If Sony would do the same with their cameras, I would consider buying their cameras.
Well their latest dSLRs have a dual MSD-SD. I suspect it's only a matter of time before this filters down to the Cybershots.
woot! cheap m2
As an AT&T CSR, my response is "thank god"
Then count how many customers give you dirty looks when you try to sell them a memory card and have to explain why the one they've been using in their Sony Ericsson for years, wont work anymore.
I'm already getting the same thing as manufacturers have all started to switch to micro USB for their chargers and give me skeptical, untrusting looks as I try and explain why it's a good thing
That objection is not a problem, while AT&T carries SE phones, we frequently have not carried the memory cards that go in them, not in the stores, not on the website, and I've frequently had customer bitch and moan about how they can't move their files to SE phones like they can nearly every other phone in existence.
The 'Oh wait' link also says 'Memory Stick Micro slot'. Oh wait...?
Oh wait. The sentence before it says "Next thing you know Sony will be dumping UMD."
Ah
Oh wait. You can't even understand simple inferences.
Ah
They meant to say "Next thing you know Sony will be dumping UMD. Oh wait, they already have."
At least that's what I inferred from it. If you have gleaned some hidden knowledge from their texts, please enlighten us.
At this point, I shouldn't really be explaining this... but it is evident that you really need it, so here it is:
"Next thing you know Sony will be dumping UMD. Oh wait, they already have."
That's what they meant. And how did you infer that? Because the post says "No UMD drive". But the post also says "Memory Stick Micro slot". And using the same reasoning, what you infer from that is that they *aren't* dumping the Memory Stick, which basically goes *against* this post, so instead of reinforcing what they were saying (as they meant to do), it backfires and weakens the argument. Hence my "Oh wait".
Clear now? Can't make it clearer, sorry. This is simple logic.
What I inferred from your last reply is that you are not a very good inferrer.
Well, I said I shouldn't be explaining. You're simply hopeless...
They never said it was a sure thing.
"While it's not clear if that'll be a clean break from here on out or not, Sony Ericsson Global Marketing Director Fortuné Alexander did say that the company is "moving in that direction," and at least a few more still unannounced handsets have apparently already made the switch."
Maybe you don't know that the entire article doesn't absolutely have to talk about just one thing?
good decision, add a 3.5mm headphone jack, and you'll at least have chances to win me back as a customer...
According to John Koller in the Qore vid, the PSP Go has a MemoryStick Micro slot. What gives? Maybe it is compatible with both. That would be rather excellent. Aren't Sony DSLRs dual-compatible?
actually some SE cellphones are dual card capable like the Sony K850i
I think only the pin arrangement is different.
I imagine, though I'm hardly an expert, that the PSP Go uses Memory Stick still as a way of being compatible with original PSPs... maybe there isn't, but I assume there is some sort of adapter to go from Micro to Duo, like there was to go to from Duo to... non-Duo.
yes they should have done this long ago. I can imagine it cuts down on manufacturing cost as well. Now if only we could get rid of the memory stick, and switch them to SD we would be getting somewhere
Step by step consermers will always win. Now if we could just get Apple to use SOME form of external memory
Next stop: ditch Memory Stick completely.
now stop memory stick formats altogether and while you are at it get apple to stop with their displayport nonsense too then we can all use microsd, hdmi and sdhc and the newer sdhc version think its called sdxc or something.
DisplayPort is a VESA standard.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_DisplayPort
It's part of the DisplayPort 1.2 Standard. Do your research next time.
Not only that, but DisplayPort is royalty free (unlike HDMI) and supports higher bandwidth than HDMI or DVI.
DisplayPort is a good thing.
There have been two things holding us back with higher resolution displays... resolution independence in operating systems ("the text is too small") and the display interconnection. Let's look at, say, WQUXGA. For a respectable refresh rate (48 Hz, and that's not even respectable, that's just the best that's ever been done, due to panel limitations) you need three DVI links, and they need to be genlocked together (the latter isn't common, although you can drive it at 25 Hz off of a single dual-link DVI port, if you've got the latest version of the IBM T221, the DG5. The DG3 can only work on single-link DVI, and needs four single-links, all from the same card, with software to make Windows treat it as one monitor, even though it's essentially four different monitors. Yeah, that's tricky.)
DisplayPort can do 3840x2400 at 50 Hz on a single link, IIRC.
Sony, I love my 60GB PS3. It has standard memory slots on it. I would buy more of your products if you used standard memory in your other devices. Please put MisroSDHC in the PSP Go, I will buy it! Put SDHC in your Webby camcorder, and other devices. I will buy them! Please for the love of jebus, ditch memory stick!
Thank goodness. Now if they would just get rid of the rest of their proprietary crap, we'd be all set.
Why is everyone so positive about this? This just means less competition in the flash memory card industry which usually leads to higher prices and less innovation/r&d. The road to the 1TB micro memory card has just lengthened vastly. With the MS Micro there was a lot of healthy, welcomed competition.
Bullshit. Sony was the only supporter of MS, and MS cards usually cost more than comparable SD cards. Competition within the SD space is still rigorous. You can still have competition within a single unified standard.
On the contrary, if MS format goes away, it would spur more competition in the flash memory market. The SD standard is good enough as it is and there is very strong competition in that as it is. Sandisk, Corsair, Trendnet, Kingston and many lesser known brands.
Now if Memory Stick format goes away, there is just one format left to compete in, SD. This would drive the costs down and increase the number of companies competing for the same market segment.
Wider standards adoption is always good for the consumers.
The various companies will compete each other lower. MemorySticks were expensive for quite awhile because fewer companies were allowed to produce them. SD is cheap as hell because everyone and their grandma not only makes them, but uses them.
No, this one is more like the RAM market.
My grandma probably wouldn't use a microSD card in the intended fasion. Perhaps with a glass of water and spoonful of sugar.
Sony. The one and only.
"Sony. The Son and ony" sounds somehow better.
any variation of the proprietary memory stick sucks. sometimes it's my deciding factor *against* a product versus a non-sony one with an sd slot. no one wants to buy media cards that only works on a limited set of devices versus one that works on a wide variety.
stating the obvious here. spelling it out for sony: sd/sdhc and other media storage formats are more versatile & practical regardless of manufacturer or device. haven't you guys figured that out yet? or are you too stubborn to change?
There is nothing less proprietary about SD. The SD association are complete jerks about owning their standard. SD is just a more widely adopted proprietary standard.
For example:
http://www.sd-3c.com/
And don't forget the royalty report form. The one you can't even SEE until the give you the password.
both are proprietary but my usage of that single word hints at how much better a generally accepted standard would be if it was open source without digressing off topic. sd is the lesser of two evils due to its widespread use.
granted memory stick has a better website:
https://www.memorystick.org/eng/e-index.html
in detail, perhaps my usage of the word proprietary should have been more accurately and specifically replaced by a more convoluted phrase that highlights sd's quasi-proprietary one bit protocol, the proprietary exfat format-able media, the royalty license fees, the tiresome manufacturer/developer requirements and inherent politics and legalities, while emphasizing the ubiquitous nature of sd media versus the memory stick.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card
again, i see that spiraling off topic into uninteresting politics and legalities.
the financial numbers have been staring at them during this time. it's no open source, but the ubiquitous practicalities of sd over memory stick are almost unequivocable.
i don't know why, but garmin thinks it's not proprietary; and the reasons why are unclear:
http://www8.garmin.com/support/faqs/faq.jsp?faq=160
bottom line: sd is far more widely used and practical.
Well, there is always MMC... that is a more open standard, devices using MMC are license and royalty free (but cards are not,) and it's forward compatible with SD. (But, there's no MMC-HD.)
Time to buy Sandisk stock....gonna get some more business from sony.
Sandisk has been making Memory Sticks and its variants for years. In fact all my Duo cards for my are Sandisk brand.
*for my PSP
Partay!!!!
Sony is a fully paid up member of the SD association and has been moving its memory line to merge with SD.
Can't Engadget do some research ?
Good news, they've also dropped (or added SD support) memory stick out of their DSLR cameras, no UMD on new playstation go, their mp3 players have drag and drop support, and now the phones seem to be moving forwards toward SD cards.
Guess Stinger was right when he said they are listening to customers. Well done, hope they realized how bad proprietary anything is crap.
I couldn't care less about proprietary vs. non-proprietary. All I know is that
-SD variants are almost an order of magnitude cheaper at large sizes;
-I have many gadgets in my life that already use SD variants.
Please understand that when people use the word 'proprietary' they are referring to a cluster of properties that includes number of manufacturers, number of interoperable devices, and price.
Yes, it's getting the word wrong. It doesn't mean the sentiment is wrong.
It used to be truly proprietary. You could only buy Sony memory sticks. But you've been able to buy them from Lexar, SanDisk, etc. for quite some time now. And the price difference is closer to 2X than 10X (an order of magnitude) (pricegrabber says $75 for Sandisk Memory Stick Micro 16GB, $52 for Kingston Micro SDHC), unless you are buying low quality SD. And I don't recommend buying low quality SD.
I'd rather use SD, but microSD ain't exactly cheap either and with SD in the middle of three transitions (physical shape SD->microSD, and protocol changes SD->SDHC and SDHC->SDXC), the SD market is a wreck right now. It's in the worst shape it's been in that I can remember.
With Stringer's comments of a few weeks ago (about how they could have beat Apple if they had been more open), it's baffling to me that the PSP Go! doesn't use a combo slot like on the K850i.
I wish everything would just use SDHC cards already. Its not like they are that much larger than the Micros.
Yeah, and oddly enough the new Alpha DSLR bodies ditch Compact Flash and integrate both MSPDuo and SDHC. Soo, i assume this signals a transition for sony. Can SDHC pocket cams be next?
Lord knows it's not good to do anything that limits your sales, their reps aren't what they used to be, and nobody's gonna force money out of anyone's wallets thesedays anyway.
That's the beginning of them understanding that they have to conform to compete!
YES! FINALLY!
This is good. Although I LOVE memory stick for the fact that it is truly backwards compatible, it just doesn't justify the unusually high price.
Sony.......Bony?
this is better than a pony.
And now to ditch their clunky prong-port that requires an even clunkier adapter to use 3.5mm handsfrees...
Is... Is Sony... getting it?
Apparently so. Now hopefully this will put more pressure on Olympus.
Olympus has moved to microSDHC already. Their cameras now support xD and micrSDHC
Yes, "microSDHC". While this format makes sense for phones, it seems rather inadequate for a camera. If Olympus really wants to show more than halfhearted support a full size slot should be made available.
About f*in time.
Still, too late to the party.
You wonder if Sony has any inkling that vast swaths of the population loathe the memory stick format, and steer well away from Sony products for that one reason alone.
Years ago I had a P31 and choked on having to pay 2x to 3x for MS over SD cards. Then there was the "oh we are switching to MS PRO from MS so you can't use your old cards on a new camera" bit. I left Sony digicams in disgust, and never looked back.
If they'd actually been price comparable, or clearly been higher speed, fine, but it felt like a Sony tax pure and simple.
I am pleasantly surprised Sony.
Wholy crap! I think I just saw a pig flying.