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Sony has stated that its previously announced Memory Stick Pro flash card will be available earlier than it originally planned, as well as at a slightly lower cost. Introduced earlier this year in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB capacities, the Memory Stick PRO flash media format will be available in March for about $150 USD, $320 USD and $640 USD, respectively. Its 256 MB Memory Select cards will also be available for $135 USD. The same capacities of Compact Flash cards currently sell for approximately $60, $115, and $300 USD, respectively, while Secure Digital cards sell for approximately $75 and $300 USD, respectively. 1 GB Secure Digital cards are not yet available.
In addition to higher capacities, Memory Stick Pro cards boat a dramatically increased transfer rate of up to 160 megabits per second (Mbps) and a write speed of over 15 Mbps in properly supporting devices. That allows for real-time recording directly to the card. Memory Stick Pro also includes Sony's SDMI-based MagicGate copy-prevention system for so-called Digital Rights Management. Independent of the MagicGate system, the new cards also include an "Access Control Function" that encodes data on the card in case of loss or theft. Memory Stick with Memory Select cards are in essence two 128 MB "traditional" Memory Sticks built into a single package, with a physical switch to select which is active.
Memory Stick Pro cards won't work in all Sony products, however. The only CLIE handhelds that will accept Memory Stick Pro cards are the CLIE NX-series and CLIE NZ-series, which will require a software upgrade in order to do so. The Memory Stick with Memory Select cards are compatible with all Memory Stick devices currently on the market.
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