Sony Intros Faster 2GB Memory Stick Pro; New Reader/Writer

Sony Electronics announced Tuesday a 2 gigabyte version of its Memory Stick PRO High Speed media card with higher speed read and write capability.

The updated Memory Stick PRO High Speed media features capacities of up to 2GB in the standard-size media and 1GB in the Memory Stick PRO Duo media size and are designed to support both read and write speeds of up to 80Mbps, or 10 megabits per second.

The 2GB version will be available in October for about US$700.

In addition, has also upgraded its standard Memory Stick PRO media at lower prices. In October, the 256MB Pro media will be available for about $80, the 512MB Pro for about $150, and the 256MB Pro Duo media for about $85. In November, the 512MB Pro Duo media will be priced at about $155.

Also announced: The new MSAC-USM1 USB reader/writer which will feature slots that accept standard-size Memory Stick and Memory Stick PRO media, the smaller Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo media, as well as MicroDrive and CompactFlash (Type I/II) cards. It will accommodate the petite Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo media without the use of an adaptor. The unit is available now for $30.