The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity and faster file transfer speeds; Memory Stick Duo, a small-form-factor version of the Memory Stick (including the PRO Duo); the even smaller Memory Stick Micro (M2), and the Memory Stick PRO-HG, a high speed variant of the PRO to be used in high-definition video and still cameras.
As a proprietary format, Sony exclusively used Memory Stick on its products in the 2000s such as Cyber-shot digital cameras, Handycam digital camcorders, Sony Ericsson mobile phones, WEGA and Bravia TV sets, VAIO PCs, digital audio players, and the PlayStation Portable game console, with the format being licensed to a few other companies early in its lifetime. With the increasing popularity of Secure Digital around 2010, Sony started to include SD in their devices, marking a surrender by Sony of its format war in the memory-card business and the end to further serious development of the format. Despite this, Sony continues to support Memory Stick on certain newer devices through the use of adaptors.
History
The original Memory Stick, which was launched in October 1998, was available in capacities up to 128 MB.
In October 1999, Sony licensed the technology to Fujitsu, Aiwa, Sanyo, Sharp, Pioneer and Kenwood, in a bid to avoid a repetition of the Betamax failure. Other companies were also licensees to the format. Some early examples of Memory Stick usage by third-party companies include Sharp's MP3 players, Alpine's in-dash players, and Epson's printers.
Initially the format had a lukewarm reception, but it soon increased in popularity, especially after the licensing deal. In spring 2001, Memory Stick attained 25% market share (against CompactFlash's 40% and SmartMedia's 32%), up from 7% a year earlier. By May 2001, total shipment of Memory Stick units surpassed 10 million.
However the SD card, jointly developed by Toshiba, Panasonic and SanDisk, became widely popular among companies and soon became the most popular flash format by November 2003 it held 42% market share in the United States, ahead of CompactFlash's 26% and Memory Stick with 16%. Eventually Sony itself became the only company to support the format. Sony was often criticized for the Memory Stick, as they were deemed to be expensive compared to other formats.
, it appeared that Sony had begun to combine support for SD/SDHC and Memory Stick formats in their products. All digital cameras and camcorders announced by Sony at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show could use SD and SDHC cards as well as Memory Sticks. Furthermore, Sony announced the release of its own line of SD cards. Many claimed this development as the end of the format war between Memory Stick and SD card. However, Sony did not abandon the format at this time, and indicated that it would continue development of the format for the foreseeable future. A prime example was the development of WiFi transfers through a special Memory Stick PRO-Duo which was still in development .
Sony's first significant migration away from Memory Stick did not come until 2019, when it introduced the α7R IV full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera without Memory Stick support, opting instead for dual SDXC slots.
Applications
Typically, Memory Sticks are used as storage media for a portable device, in a form that can easily be removed for access by a personal computer. For example, Sony digital compact cameras use Memory Stick for storing image files. With a Memory Stick-capable memory card reader a user can copy the pictures taken with the Sony digital camera to a computer. Sony typically included Memory Stick reader hardware in its first-party consumer electronics, such as digital cameras, digital music players, PDAs, cellular phones, the VAIO line of laptop computers, TV sets under the WEGA and Bravia names, and Sony's handheld gaming device, the PlayStation Portable.
A special Memory Stick can be inserted in the hindquarters of Sony's AIBO robot pet, to enable the use of Aiboware—software intended for use on AIBOs. The Sticks include a copy protection mechanism used by the robot, allowing users to write programs. These are referred to as programmable or programming. Only 8 MB and 16 MB versions are available.