In a move that can only be referred to as a not-so-small act of "screwing Sony's pooch", Sandisk announced that they too will be releasing their own 4GB Memory Stick Duo Pro. The proclaimation was made a day after Sony officially announced their launch of a similar product. Naturally, Sandisk--now proudly bearing the crafty underdog image they've come to relish in the flash memory arena--mentioned that they will be selling their 4GB Duo Pros in March for $239.99; two months earlier and ten dollars cheaper than Sony's.This news doesn't help Sony's case as it is, especially when you consider GameSpot's compelling head-to-head comparison of Sandisk and Sony. (Here's a hint: Sandisk won.)
But $250 is still $250, no matter how you look at it. This still won't mean squat to the thousands out there whose only option of earning cash is through saving allowance and birthday money, but for the rest of the populace who either have A.) parents who spoil them rotten, B.) full-time jobs, or C.) the inherent ability to survive for months on nothing but Ramen, this meager but significant means to save a whole tenner is a pretty darned convincing argument.
[via PSP Junkies]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-02-2006 @ 9:47AM
Scott Vieth said...
It is really insane when you think about it that SanDisk can better every major company's memory media with faster, cheaper, and more reliable memory. Guess it goes to show what a good company can do if that's what it concentrates on.
How long until the 8 GB stick gets released?
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3-02-2006 @ 9:59AM
PrfctVrs said...
The Sandisk sticks are all I buy anyway. hopefully the good news will be a further price reduction on the 2GB Duo Pro.
Party on Sandisk
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3-02-2006 @ 10:21AM
Jerome said...
A.) parents who spoil them rotten
B.) full-time jobs
C.) the inherent ability to survive for months on nothing but Ramen
All of the above! :p lolll
I just wonder what will happen went sony will sell there 8Go duo! Will the firmware 3 or later, fix the 4go max on the PSP?
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3-02-2006 @ 12:15PM
SuicideNinja said...
Um...for that price, wouldn't you just want the Datel "Hard drive"? It comes with a bigger battery for the same price.
I guess if you don't want to make the PSP any bigger. I still trust CF more than Memory Sticks.
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3-02-2006 @ 1:28PM
Chris Miller said...
My god, A and B don't apply to me buy C's a dead ringer! :-D
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3-03-2006 @ 1:58AM
Isagani said...
Size sounds great; price better drop normally and hopefully after a month or two of it being out on the market in quanities it'll be worth the money to buy a 4gb card... as for the Datel HD - it's not an option IMO just because it's too big, I wouldn't be able to use my Logitech case, and the duos use less battery.
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3-03-2006 @ 2:46AM
epobirs said...
How is this bad news for Sony? Sandisk is a licensed producer of Memory Stick products. Sony derives revenue from Sandisk's sales. Not as much as they'd make from their own higher priced version but ultimately it helps improve the PSP's value. If Sandisk (or Lexar) could somehow deliver a 4GB stick for $100 the boost it would lend to the PSP would far outweigh the loss in Sony branded stick revenue.
It seems pretty likely Sony is going to eventually have a service like the Xbox Live Arcade for the PSP. Memory Stick already provides for DRM. Capacity growth would increase the viability of the service.
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3-03-2006 @ 3:05AM
Skarface said...
Only 10 dollar difference I would rather buy sony memorystick. I don't really give a damn sandisk is a better performer, the difference isn't that much anyway. And it's design is ugly as hell. I would rather buy a nice designed sony memorystick by paying 10 more.
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3-03-2006 @ 5:26PM
WeeJames said...
Are SanDisk and Sony in some sort of proverbial bed together perchance? My Sony phone came with a 512mb SanDisk card... very strange.
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3-04-2006 @ 12:26AM
lordroba said...
I don't really give a damn sandisk is a better performer, the difference isn't that much anyway. And it's design is ugly as hell. I would rather buy a nice designed sony memorystick by paying 10 more."
LOL! I can't stop laughing! A nice designed Sony Memory stick? What are you gonna do with it? Punch a hole in it and hang it around your neck for the world to see? Plz. The thing goes inside your PSP or whatever and rarely sees the light of day. Who actually cares how the things look like?
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3-04-2006 @ 4:53AM
Skarface said...
You go buy a sandisk because you don't give a damn about how your memorystick look like. I do give a damn personally. I buy the sony version for my pleasure, not to show off to other people, what the hell?
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3-07-2006 @ 4:44PM
Ricky Ticky Tavy said...
I've never had any of my sony memory sticks fail, and yet I've personally seen my best friends sandisk 1gb stop working, reading, or allowing the device to operate while it was inserted.
Oh and when you have enough sticks to require you to buy Sony's memory stick holder, they look the most pimp... by far;
Sony's are a cool shade of burgundy with gold writing.
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