Sony announces new Memory Stick accessories
By
Mike Tomkins
(Sunday, September 8, 2002 - 12:45 EDT)
Sony Japan has announced several new accessories to allow its Memory Stick cards to be read in a Type-II PCMCIA slot and over a USB 2.0 connection.
According to a page linked to by our friends at digitalcamera.jp the MSAC-US2, MSAC-US20 and MSAC-US7 USB 2.0 readers will go on sale first from October 12th. They'll be followed on November 9th in Japan by one more USB 2.0 reader, the MSAC-US70, and an updated PC card adapter, the MSAC-PC3. All the USB 2.0 readers should have transfer rates of 800KB/second, and take their power from the USB line.
The ¥4,600 (US$39 / €40 / £25) MSAC-US2 is the simplest reader, not much larger than the Memory Stick itself - it features a removeable plastic 'cradle' and has a light to indicate when it is in use. The ¥7,800 (US$66 / €67 / £42) MSAC-US7 is an optical mouse with a Memory Stick slot, and features both a scroll wheel and an access light. The MSAC-US20 at a cost of ¥6,800 (US$57 / €58 / £38) and ¥9,800 (US$83 / €84 / £53) MSAC-US70 are functionally similar, but add MagicGate copy protection compatibility, and different styling.
Finally, the MSAC-PC3 is a ¥,7,800 (US$66 / €67 / £42) PC card adapter which is approximately 1.5x faster than the previous MSAC-PC2 model. It fits in a Type-II PCMCIA slot, and adds an access light to show when it is in use.
Note that all currency conversions in this item ignore exchange rate fluctuations, taxes and duties.
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