Photos courtesy of Sony It's a small world, and it's getting smaller by the day. This week John
Paul Catton turns his microscope on Sony's miniaturized computer accessories.
Miniaturization isn't exactly new to the Japanese; look at bonsai, ikebana
and netsuke. The term sai kuu refers to a level of craftsmanship so
refined that everything extraneous is stripped away, leaving the essence of the object to
be appreciated. It seems apt to apply the same level of craftsmanship to the virtual
world; these days, you haven't really seen it until you've seen it on a computer screen.
A range of products currently available from Sony is certainly
trying to strip things down to the essence; a Walkman reduced to a pair of headphones,
digital images transferred without wires or connections. This is all thanks to a new
device called the Sony Memory Stick, used in conjunction with the Digital Photo Frame, the
Digital Photo Printer, and the VAIO PC - all utilized by direct insertion of the Memory
Stick into the appropriate slot.
The PHD-A55 Digital Photo Frame is a 5.5-inch TFT (Thin Film Transistor) LCD that displays
digital images recorded by a Cyber-shot digital camera or Digital Handycam camcorder. The
data stored on a Memory Stick can then be replayed at leisure - not only stills using a
"slide show mode" that allows different pictures to be displayed in sequence,
but also MPEG video files, with audio. The Digital Photo Frame comes in two tastefully
colored frames - deep green or terra-cotta orange.
The DPP-MS300 Digital Photo Printer makes high quality photo prints (306dpi x 306dpi) of
images recorded on the Memory Stick. It's also equipped with a PC card slot, making it
possible to print photos from a number of digital sources including PC, Compact Flash, and
Smart Media. Using the "DPP Utility for MS300" software, images can be
manipulated to create greeting cards, postcards and stickers of your favorite snaps (or
the most embarrassing ones), while the video still image capture function makes it
possible to print out still images stored on a camcorder, as well as transfer them onto a
Memory Stick or PC card.
The VAIO L Series computers have a slot on the front panel to accommodate the Memory
Stick, whereby the images are uploaded and then processed however you like. These new PCs
are equipped with a 14.1-inch TFT LCD monitor ergonomically designed to ease the strain on
your eyes; they also hold an AutoAlert email notification system for quick access to new
messages, and a timer function which executes a pre-determined program at a given time -
even when the power is switched off.
Tune out
The Sony Memory Stick isn't just useful for visual images; it's also handy for something
called (naturally) the Memory Stick Walkman. What makes this particular device so
remarkable is that you lose the baggage of the cassette, the CD and the wires. The device
is simply inserted into a pair of compatible headphones, and away you go - no more getting
snagged by a passerby's Louis Vuitton just because you're wired for sound!
The Memory Stick is available in different capacities; the MSA 4MB (megabyte) at ´3300,
the MSA 8MB at ´4400, or the MSA 16MB at ´7700. While enjoying all of the above, you can
relax with your own cybernetic pooch because the Memory Stick also serves as a power
source for Aibo - the fetching little robot mutt featured in the May 22 issue of Tokyo
Classified. How's that for something the size of a packet of chewing gum?
A range of products currently available from Sony is certainly
trying to strip things down to the essence; a Walkman reduced to a pair of headphones,
digital images transferred without wires or connections. This is all thanks to a new
device called the Sony Memory Stick, used in conjunction with the Digital Photo Frame, the
Digital Photo Printer, and the VAIO PC - all utilized by direct insertion of the Memory
Stick into the appropriate slot. 
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