Memory Stick Duo Memory Guide

The Memory Stick Duo was developed by Sony in response to the need for a smaller memory card for their pocket-sized cameras, and cellular phones. They are roughly one third the volume, and half the weight of a standard size memory stick. It's smaller than the similar and competing Secure Digital cards, and it's about two thirds the length of a regular Memory Stick card. A Memory Stick Duo is available with all the same features as a regular size Memory Stick. Because of it's size limitation of 128 MB, the Memory Stick Duo was quickly replaced by the PRO Duo which is available in sizes up to 16 GB. The smaller capacity Memory Stick Duo is still available for purchase.

An adapter can be used to allow Memory Stick Duo to be used in a full sized memory stick slot, although some products now come with a slot that is compatible with both a standard size Memory Stick and a Memory Stick Duo. If you attempt to fit a Duo card in to a standard slot, it may get stuck and be difficult to remove because standard length Memory Sticks are much longer and the smaller Duo card would be fully inside the device and impossible to reach.

The Duo is available with or without the high speed mode, and with or without MagicGate. MagicGate is a content protection technology, suitable for allowing users to store and utilise such protected content as music, videos, games, and electronic books. MagicGate technology was introduced by Sony in 1999 as part of the Secure Digital Music Initiative. It works by encrypting content on the device itself, MagicGate chips in both the Memory Stick and the reader enforce control over how the files are copied. Some devices will only accept Memory Sticks with MagicGate, so be sure to check this before making a purchase. All Memory Stick Duo cards that have Magic Gate have a notch near the rear.