Sony and SanDisk’s Memory Stick, $879
Pros: Sony and SanDisk surprised the competition recently with this co-announcement of a 1GB storage stick. And this whopper still comes with Sony’s highly regarded security features.
Cons: It’s a big jump for Sony, whose largest capacity until now has been 128MB.
Bottom line: Great news for Sony product users.
More info: www.sandisk.com
HITACHI GLOBAL STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES MICRODRIVE, Fall 2003, price not yet available
Pros: Hitachi bought IBM’s hard disk drive division in January, which included the Microdrive, a 4GB drive on a 1-inch disk that should jump way ahead in the bits war.
Cons: The product has yet to be delivered, and release dates tend to be movable this far out.
Bottom line: If this Microdrive de-livers as promised, it could handle almost all multimedia applications.
More info: www.hgst.com
PANASONIC 1GB SD CARD, Fall 2003, price not yet available
Pros: This 1GB is an addition to its already existing line of cards. Company says product is ready, just waiting for demand to catch up.
Cons: 2GB versions won’t be ready until 2004, and 4GB in 2005.
Bottom line: For most casual camera or PDA users with Panasonic and SD compatible gear, 1GB should be plenty of storage.
More info: www.panasonic.com