What Is a Flash Memory Stick?
Flash memory sticks are a type of removable memory devices that use Flash memory technology. Because of their flexibility, durability, light weight and small size, they are perfectly suited for use with hand-held devices like cameras, music players, cellphones and PDAs. There are several varieties of flash memory sticks, and also there are distinct differences between Flash memory sticks, Flash cards and Flash drives.
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History
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Sony manufactured the first Flash memory stick and released the original units in October 1998. They were originally called "sticks" because their dimensions at that time were similar to a stick of chewing gum. Today's memory sticks are much smaller.
Uses
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Sony envisioned the use of memory sticks as offering ease for transferring information from a portable device to a personal computer, and Sony VAIO laptops still offer a port for a memory stick, even though memory sticks themselves are today being used primarily for on-device storage, rather than for transferring data from one device to another. As a transfer device, memory sticks are replaced by Flash memory cards and Flash drives.
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Capacity
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The first memory sticks could hold up to 128 MB of data. Today's smaller sticks can hold up to 32 gigs of data, although Sony engineers claim that such devices can theoretically hold up to 2 TB of information.
Types
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The original memory stick is no longer available. It was replaced with a product called Memory Stick Select, which featured two memory sticks side-by-side, with a physical switch in between them. It functioned much in the same way as dual gas tanks work in trucks. Memory Stick Pro replaced Memory Stick Select in 2003, and was manufactured by Sony in collaboration with SanDisk. Other stick formats developed are Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Micro and Memory Stick XC. These additional formats offer increased storage capacity, faster data transfer rates and smaller dimensions, but still use the same basic technology as do the original Memory Sticks.
Flash Memory Technology
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Flash memory technology is extremely popular because of its stability. It is known as a "solid state" technology because it does not contain any moving parts. Devices like memory sticks that use Flash memory technology can withstand extreme temperatures, excessive weight placed on top of them and can even recover from falling into water.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit memory card image by PeteG from Fotolia.com
