Sony To License Memory Stick

Sony today announced plans to license its Memory Stick semiconductor memory to six companies: Aiwa, Fujitsu, Kenwood, Pioneer, Sanyo and Sharp. The solid state memory system is backed by Sony and competes with CompactFlash, SmartMedia and SD Memory to be the ""cassette tape"" of the new millennium. Sony said the new licensees will focus on portable audio gear using the chewing-gum-stick-sized memory cards. The products will be similar to the new Digital Walkman previously announced. The hardware and media licenses signed by the six companies also include the specs of the copyright-protected MagicGate Memory Stick, in addition to the Memory Stick that's used for laptop computers, camcorders and digital cameras.Since the introduction of Memory Stick in September 1998, Sony has introduced a number of Memory Stick products including digital video camcorders, Cyber-shot digital still cameras, VAIO notebook and desktop computers, digital CyberFrame photo frames, and digital photo printers, as well as the Memory Stick Walkman portable audio player. According to Sony, cumulative shipments of Memory Stick media as of August 1999 have reached 1 million units and are expected to reach 3 million by the end of fiscal year 1999. Sony is also developing the Memory Stick that holds 256MB by 2001. The current maximum is 64MB, which holds about an hour of music.