That man is a sheep amongst sheep
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Sony caves in on SD card format
JAPANESE ELECTRONICS AND MEDIA GIANT Sony has abandoned its stubborn opposition to the SD card format for removable media.
At CES 2010 in Las Vegas, the company said it will include SD card storage capabilities in its Cyber-shot and Handy-Cam video cameras this year, while also retaining the memory stick format.
"It's all about providing consumers with choice," said Stan Glasgow, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics. "We will continue to develop the Memory Stick range."
Apparently the new card slots on the cameras are designed to accept both memory stick and SD cards in a single slot for simplicity.
Glasgow also demonstrated sending images between cameras via WiFi, a feature Sony calls Transferjet. It enables cameras to exchange pictures over 802.11n when in close proximity.
The company said 40 companies had signed on to use the Transferjet system and that it will be included in Sony's Vaio notebooks and digital picture frames. Its first products that will have the capability are the Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V and DSC-TX7 video cameras.
Sony is also putting GPS and an onboard compass into the DSC-HX5V, which will ship in March.
Glasgow said, "It makes it easy to remember where you took you photos and, using Google Earth, place them on the map and share with friends and family."
The company also talked up its green credentials, pointing to a new Sony Vaio netbook built partly from recycled CDs and other plastics. About 20 per cent of the Sony Vaio W Eco Edition netbook including the case will be made using recycled materials, and the netbook will be shipped without an instruction manual to save paper.
Glasgow also said that Sony has recycled more than 24.5 million pounds of electronic waste since 2007, and that it has committed to lowering the power consumption of its products by 35 per cent from 2008 levels by 2016 and cutting emissions from its plants by 39 per cent over the same timeframe. µ
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I have a recent model Sony clock radio with the lovely 7-inch LCD screen and a slide-out drawer for the iPhone. This Sony clock radio comes with a slot in the back that accepts both Sony Memory Sticks and SD Cards.
The whole industry had the fiasco of memory cards...... CF, SD/MMC, MS, SM, XD. To be unfair to Sony, they are the last ones to shift to the makeshift de facto standard of SD.
agreeing with everything you said, nice analogy with MS
No it's not, it's all about Sony noticing that the SD format is THE current standard and, by not implementing it, Sony is loosing market share.
Sony is the last company that cares about "providing consumers with choice". If that were actually the case, Sony would not be hell-bent on locking everything down with its ridiculous DRM fiascoes and user-restrictive options (like region codes, which just about everyone but Sony only pays lip service to).
Sony worried about providing choice is about as likely as Microsoft worried about not adopting open source fast enough. Not bloody likely.
@Jason
Actually Sony is years behind the times on this issue. Laptops have been shipping for years with PDF manuals and user guides. Apparently users are able to figure out where the power button is and use the touchpad or USB mouse without reading the instructions :P
I refused to buy a memory stick for my PSP. Why should I pay extra because Sony (and only Sony) use the MS card format. Much cheaper and more useful to buy a MicroSD and adaptor.
8gb Micro SD With Micro SD to Pro Duo Adapter - £17.38
SanDisk 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo - £26.08
Is they charge the memory stick too freaking much!
"and the netbook will be shipped without an instruction manual to save paper."
I've been laughing for the past five minutes over this, it's the worst idea I've heard in a very long time. Maybe next they'll make something that uses voice commands, but in only one language for the entire world.
Stupid, stupid, stupid and that's practically a compliment considering how retarded this idea is.
I JUST BLEW $4.50 ON A CR-5400 MEMORY STICK PRO DUO ADAPTER THAT TAKES DUAL MICRO SDHC CARDS FROM DEAL EXTREME .COM FOR MY STUPID SONY CAMERA.
SOMEBUDDY NEEDS TO SLAP SONY UPSIDE THE HEAD?
Alas, if only they gave in on BluRay as well and start building HD DVD player.
Oh well, you win some you lose some.
"...Sony will now start selling VHS video recorders alongside its Betamax VCRs. It'a all about giving consumers more choice"
With the Memory Stick, Sony has again tried and failed to impose one of its proprietary standards.
How long before they drop MS altogether?
I have dissuaded many friends from purchasing Sony Cameras/Camcorders simply due to the Sony Memory Stick incompatibility with all other non-Sony devices. It is long past due for Sony to 'cave' on the SD front.