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MemPlug MemoryStick


Mon Mar 11, 2002 - 10:53 AM EST - By Scott Hanselman

Product Info
Details

»	Name MemPlug MemoryStick
»	Company Portable Innovation Technology
»	Fact Sheet & User Opinions

Availability

»	Unknown

Pricing

»	$69.95

Conclusion

The MemPlug MS is yet another example of why I still love my Visor. Ya, I have Sony Clie envy occasionally...I check out the Palm 5x5 series but just can justify the money for a new PDA. I wonder when I will end-of-life my trusty Visor Prism. I mean, I spent $400 on it the nanosecond it came out. But just as I get ready to buy a new Palm, a new springboard comes out that reminds me why the Visor is so superior. You've got CompactFlash? Use it. You've got SmartMedia? Use those. Now, I can use a Memory Stick as well. I use CF Cards in my camera, but my wife prefers Memory Stick. Now we have a way to share media. Very cool. I've basically just upgraded my Visor Prism to all the functionality of a Sony Clie for the price of a $69 module!

The MemPlug MS includes a complete and powerful suite of tools, a picture viewer, movies, backup. If you have MemorySticks and a Visor, it's a no-brainer. I recommend the MemPlug MS highly. I thought when I'd bought a Sony Digital Camcorder with memory Stick that I'd doomed myself to a lifetime of Memory Format incompatibility. Not so.

The only major drawback of the MemPlug MS is that the Memory Stick does protrude from the top of the Visor. This will have a tendancy to keep you from storing it inside the Visor all the time. It's not impossible, just slightly inconvenient.

Now that Portable Innovation has a complete line of SpringBoard Modules that handle all memory formats, with a unified software suite to back it up, there's really no other game in town when it comes to memory expansion for the Visor. I'd recommend it highly.

Criteria	Rating
Cost/Benefit	4
Setup	5
Usability	5
Features	5
Overall (not an average)

Pros

- Virtually unlimited storage!
- Great Bundled File Management Software
- View JPGs directly from MemoryStick
- Backup/Restore Software built in!
- Is simple enough that anyone can use it!

Cons

- Introduces some concepts of "File Management" to your Palm
- Memory Stick sticks out the top of the Module
- Can't use plastic Visor cover while Stick is inside.