But it's also misleading due to the inability to easily replace it. People are always amazed when I tell them I have a 128mb memory stick which will hold 80 pictures. "80 pictures? That's over twice a roll of film! Why do you need that much?" Because I can't buy a third, or fourth, or fifth roll of film at the grocery store. I can reuse it, so there's no consumable cost, but not without a computer to unload my existing pictures.
I see my likely choice of next camera as an SLR digital. Every single one of them use CF I and II and some use SM as well. NONE of them use MS. So if you're moving to more sophisticated photographic equipment you wil leave the MS format behind.
OK.
We're not talking just making Memory Sticks here (even there, didn't you read the latest reports at c~net ?). We're talking about application. This is part of the reason that Memory Stick media has grown in two years to over 25%. Its numbers like these that is swinging supporters, as was predicted over a year ago.
I'm not sure how that makes them bad fellas. But many feel as you do.
So you decide to buy a camera today with the intent of selling it, then buying another camera that will likely use the same format memory as your previous camera.
But this assumes that you are a one-camera user. Oftentimes, those who move on to an SLR still choose to keep a consumer-level camera because of its portability and ease of use.
It all washes out, doesn't it? For the user who first gets into Sony cameras, as well as for those who already have adopted them.
There's nothing in SmartMedia, CompactFlash, or Memory Stick that prevents sharing it among devices. We were originally talking about convergence, right? Memory Stick was designed around it, but it could happen with CompactFlash. Maybe even SmartMedia.
As I said, it could become a formidable competitor to CompactFlash. And it's set to overtake SmartMedia, and could even marginalize it. Convergence can happen with either CF or MS, depending on whether MS keeps up its growth and also whether Sony keeps up the pace increasing the size and decreasing the price.
I think we are. Maybe we're just approaching it from different aspects of what's happening.I think we're agreeing here
And if Sony keeps up the impressive growth rate, then in Spring 2002 we'll see:
Plus shipping... don't forget eCost's whacked out shipping charges!An encouraging thought, for sure. It'll make me feel better about
the $150 I gave eCost for that 128mb MS
Now if only we could use the Force to see what a 1GB stick would run us and when...
And maybe I'm just being too abstruse, as usual :-(I think we are. Maybe we're just approaching it from differentI think we're agreeing here
aspects of what's happening.
Right. If almost any other company tried to develop their own format as Sony did, it would probably collapse (because few companies besides Sony have such an incredibly strong product line that it can support a media format almost singlehandedly for a year and a half).
Who other than Sony would invent laptops with Memory Stick slots, or an optical mouse with an MS reader? This is all part of convergence. If my PDA, phone, music player, camera, and camcorder are all going to use the same format, it would be nice for my computer to have a slot built-in to easily read that media (just as an example). Sony actually takes convergence seriously, which is a big factor in MS's growth (I think).
Also probably a big factor. Let's hope it continues. Personally I think they should try to woo Olympus. They seem to be the only big camera maker left using SmartMedia. If they could ink a big deal, it could be a huge boost to Memory Stick… and possibly the death of SmartMedia ;-)
hehehe… it came out to $180 all told, which is terrible, considering the listed price was $150 (20% overhead!), but I was happy since I was expecting more around $240 total. That's what I would pay Sony Style for the stick before any shipping or tax! What I was not happy about is that I ordered on June 1 and it didn't ship until June 12, and whatever remote place they shipped it from, it took 8 DAYS to arrive (June 20) — UPS Ground usually does MUCH better than that here (to their credit, I got a tracking number, so I knew exactly what delivery date I was anxiously waiting for). So I paid three weeks before getting the darn thing! Well, some of that time I didn't have the camera either (another story I won't bore you with, though it's in another thread).Plus shipping... don't forget eCost's whacked out shipping charges!An encouraging thought, for sure. It'll make me feel better about
the $150 I gave eCost for that 128mb MS
No kidding! 640 high-quality images on my S75! (You can be sure I won't have upgraded by then, cause I don't get budget for these sorts of things very often…) Meanwhile, S155 owners will be lamenting how they can only fit 80 26mp images on their 1gb stick (it only came bundled with a measly 128mb), which will never be enough for a vacation… and others will be advocating the MVC-DVD300… after going through an ROCS with the S75 and a GOCS on the CD300, in addition to the F505V's BOCS, Sony will finally decide user firmware upgrades will save them money in repair costs… we can hope, can't we?
Memory Stick is growing fast. In a year or two, you may find that more than just Sony cameras are using it. It's much more open than it used to be. You'll be much less Sony-dependent because there will be products from other manufacturers using it as well.
Heheheh...
