Sony aims to create a memorable standard

PETER GRIFFIN looks at Sony's moves to make Memory Sticks an industry standard.

TOKYO - Sony is seeking to build industry support of its Memory Stick digital storage standard by issuing new licences and cutting prices.

Last week, Sony executives unveiled a line-up of Memory Stick-compatible devices, destined initially for the Japanese market, which it hopes will move Memory Stick out of the IT industry and into mainstream consumer electronics.

So far the sticks have proved most popular as a data transfer device for Sony's Vaio computer range and its digital cameras and video recorders.

But Sony wants the device to be a widespread "interface connector" between digital cameras, handheld computers, mobile phones, GPS (global positioning systems) and car stereos.

A Memory Stick television which allows a slide show of photographs to be viewed full-size on a TV screen, miniature cameras that store photos on tiny cards and a Memory Stick version of Sony's handheld computer Clie were among the products showcased.

Takanobu Tsuboi, assistant manager at Sony's Memory Stick Centre, said the company was determined not to let the stick go the same way as Betamax, the video standard it invented and launched in 1975, which was subsequently squashed by rival VHS.

"Memory Stick will be everywhere, the key here is ubiquity.

"It will become an integral part of everyone's lifestyle," he said.

Sony launched Memory Stick - a chewing gum-sized, chip-based storage device in 1998, hoping to repeat the success of the compact disc, which it co-developed with Philips in 1982.

But rival standard Compact Flash, developed by digital memory giant SanDisk, Toshiba and Matsushita, has so far gained faster acceptance and it accounts for around 40 per cent of the world market, against Memory Stick's 25 per cent.

Last year Sony shipped seven million Memory Sticks, three million short of its target. This year it had shipped around 15 million Memory Sticks up to the end of last month.

It expects to have sold 120 million Memory Sticks by 2004.

The slowing PC market and weakening consumer spending in the United States and Japanese markets may slow the company's progress.

In August it moved to stimulate demand by cutting the price of the sticks by up to 30 per cent, bringing it nearer those of other storage standards.

Ranging from $69 for an 8MB card to $449 for a 128MB version in New Zealand, the price of the sticks may have to drop further while CD-RW and DVD+RW disks remain a far cheaper alternative.

Memory Stick capacity will also have to increase as the digital storage of video and digital song formats becomes more widespread and Sony plans to bump stick capacity up to 512MB next year.

"Introducing a 1GB Memory Stick today wouldn't be a good idea," Mr Tsuboi said. "We would have to price it at more than $US1000 ($2400), which would limit the market for it."

He said that by 2004, 1GB Memory Sticks would be selling for below $500.

Meanwhile, the list of manufacturers backing Memory Stick has grown to 185, with computer vendors, semiconductor companies, car makers and mobile phone companies among the mix.

Although there are only a handful of examples of Memory Stick-compatible products from other vendors already on the market, Mr Tsuboi said it was expected that a wide range of products would incorporate the standard.

In August, Samsung became a Memory Stick licensee and it will incorporate the standard into its new desktop PC and notebook range from next year.

Samsung digital camcorders, DVD players, mobile phones, PDAs and televisions supporting Memory Stick will also appear.

Hewlett-Packard's PhotoSmart printers were launched this year with both Memory Stick and Compact Flash slots built in, pointing to the standard also being incorporated into its PC range.

Hewlett Packard's potential merger partner, Compaq, is also a Memory Stick signee.

Motorola will offer the Memory Stick as a peripheral option to its Dragon Ball range of Microprocessors and Acer has incorporated it into its Palm-based s10 handhelds, which it is launching in the Chinese market this month.

Handspring and Pioneer are also preparing Memory Stick products for launch.

Mr Tsuboi said securing SanDisk's support was a coup as the company had developed the competing Compact Flash standard with Toshiba and Matsushita Electric.

SanDisk will supply Sony with flash memory and work with it to co-develop future Memory Sticks.

Also in the pipeline are plans for ROM (read-only memory) Memory Sticks, the "Duo" version, which is half the size of regular Memory Sticks, and versions incorporating Bluetooth modules and fingerprint readers.

The recording industry is likely to cheer on the introduction of the "Memory Gate" Memory Stick, which contains an embedded chip protecting copyrighted contents.

Also incorporating Bluetooth and 802.11 wireless networking into a wider range of its products, Sony maintains the ease with which devices will communicate in future will not strangle the market for Sony's portable storage devices.

"We're definitely not ignoring wireless," said Mr Tsuboi.

But by 2003 it would still require a minute to download one song by wireless, he said.

"It all depends on the speed of wireless communications and that will still be relatively slow in two to three years."

* Peter Griffin visited Tokyo as a guest of Sony.

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