Sony announces faster Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX, children's eyes light up with glee

Can you handle an even faster Memory Stick? It's the Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX series, which Sony is speeding up but, curiously, isn't tacking any more random letters to the already ridiculous name. The cards offer maximum capacity of 32GB and transfer rates of 30MB/s, and while Sony doesn't indicate whether that's a read or a write speed (we're guessing read) they should handily out-class even high-class SD-based storage options. Naturally, though, you'll be paying for that performance, with 8GB prices starting at $59.99. No word on how Sony will differentiate these faster cards from the current crop of unnecessarily long-named storage options falling under the Pro-HG Duo HX moniker, but we'll find out when they hit retailers later this summer.

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SONY SPEEDS UP STORAGE MEDIA WITH NEW HIGH PERFORMANCE MEMORY STICK
30MB/Second Making Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX the Fastest Consumer Memory Cards from Sony

PARK RIDGE, N.J., May 10, 2010 Digital photographers have come to expect top performance from their equipment. Quick response and high quality image capture are not just features of their digital cameras, but also functions of the memory cards on which they record.

Sony Electronics will be enhancing its lineup of Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX"! memory cards to increase transfer speeds. These new Memory Stick cards have a 30-megabytes-per-second transfer rate, making them Sony s fastest memory cards on the market. They are Sony s highest performance memory cards and are designed to support and enhance features of Sony hardware devices.

Consumers quickly will see the benefit of the high-speed HX series when using features like burst shooting for DSLR or shooting HD video, said Shane Higby, director of the consumer media business at Sony Electronics. It is the recommended media format for both professionals and enthusiasts, delivering high performance and a range of unique benefits . For example, using a 32GB capacity HX series Memory Stick an Alpha DSLR"! camera user can take approximately 260 images in one minute (JPEG mode/Large [14MB]), which is approximately 160 percent more images than PRO Duo Memory Stick . Likewise, a Handycam"! camcorder user can transfer approximately 175 minutes of HD video or a 30GB file (taken in 1920x1080 on HDRCX110) in 17 minutes, via the compatible high-speed adaptor, which is one-quarter of the time it takes to download from a 32GB PRO Duo Memory Stick. Results may vary depending on hardware and settings.

Sold in capacities ranging from 8GB to 32GB, the HX series starts at $59.99. As a value-added benefit, all Memory Stick models include x-Pict Story software for easy on-line photo sharing, as well as data recovery software to enable file rescue. For more information on these valued added benefits please visit our website at www.sony.net/memorycard/en_us.

Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX will be available this summer at major electronics retailers and www.SonyStyle.com.