Sony has portable memory - at a price

By PETER GRIFFIN

Sony's product line-up for this year features new items in most categories, from digital cameras and laptops to minidisc players and TV sets. Here's a sample:

Storage - Sony has sold tens of million of its Memory Stick storage cards, though most of them are floating around in Japan. The idea is that the 2g stick of plastic and metal becomes the courier for all your digital files - from mp3 player to computer to digital camera to video camera and back to computer.

It's a nice concept but the prices are steep. The new 1GB memory stick costs $1599, the 512MB version is $799 and the 256MB stick is $399. Sony promises higher capacity cards soon.

A half-size Memory Stick Duo is available for mobile devices such as the Sony Ericsson P800 mobile phone.

Hi-Fi - The Hard Drive Micro System ($2000) records your CDs to a 20GB hard drive as they play, giving you thousands of songs at the touch of a button, and a USB slot offers endless possibilities. Plug into your PC and transfer your mp3 audio files using the supplied software.

Digital music buffs have been running their hi-fi systems from their PCs for some time, but peering at a computer screen as the party rages isn't all that socially acceptable. This wall mountable unit will stand alone, stylishly as well. But with two 25-watt speakers it won't necessarily rock the house.

Handhelds - Sony has had its Palm-based handheld computers on the market here for around a year and while they win points for style - especially those models that boast inbuilt digital cameras - rival Palm vendors Handspring and even Kyocera have made inroads with cheaper models.

Sony's new entry-level model, the SJ22G, at $600, will compete with Microsoft PocketPC-based models from vendors such as Dell, which recently released its Axim handheld locally at a similar price.

A range of wallet-sized Clies are now available with interchangeable faces. They can be swapped over depending on your mood, much the same way that mobile phone faces can be changed.

Several new high-end Clies include Bluetooth - a standard for wireless communication with other Bluetooth-enabled products up to a distance of 30 metres. A "wi-fi" card allowing wireless internet access for the Clie costs $380 and a PlayStation-like game controller can be attached to the Clie ($140). Games and other software can be downloaded from Palm.com.

Home theatre - Sony New Zealand's managing director Kazu Yoshino says home theatre systems are popular because Kiwis generally have "big lounges".

"Before, home theatre was hard to install. Now it's just a package. The wiring and everything is all active from the start," says Yoshino.

But home theatre can be expensive.

The beautiful 42 inch Wega plasma screen TV will set you back $15,000 - though watching a DVD on the Wega is the next best thing after going to the cinema.

A cheaper option is the Cineza projector ($7499) but you still need an amplifier and speakers.

Why not throw in a DVD recorder for $2400 and a universal remote control ($400) to run all the devices from one little key pad?