For anybody who complains that Sony's Memory Stick Duo memory cards are too expensive compared with other forms of flash memory, DealExtreme has a solution. It's the StarJade SDHC microSD to Memory Stick MS Pro Duo Adapter Sleeve, which retails for a mere $2.85, including free shipping. Unfortunately, the only problem is that it's illegal (see "update" note at the bottom of the post).
A quick comparison on Amazon for prices of microSD and Memory Stick Duo reveals that an 8GB microSDHC card costs around $20 (with shipping), while an 8GB Memory Stick Duo card comes in around $34 with shipping. (Yes, the adapter supports higher-capacity SDHC microSD cards). Step up to a 16GB card and the delta is about $25, with entry-level 16GB microSDHC cards retailing for around $50.
The description on the product page says the adapter works with a wide variety of portable electronics devices, including cameras and audio players. We can't vouch for the reliability of the adapter but we did order a couple to test out, which we now realize may have been a no-no.
Note: This adapter won't work with the new PSP Go, which uses Sony's Memory Stick Micro (M2).
Update: Mike McCarthy of SanDisk writes: "The microSD-Memory Stick adapter is illegal, unlicensed and infringes on Sony Corp patents. Maybe it's cool to promote this stuff as a 20-year-old blogger, but I thought CNET would have higher standards." As a result of Mike's comment, we have summoned some maturity and edited the post.
Discuss: Using cheaper microSD memory in your PSP and Sony cameras is a no-no
Be respectful, keep it clean and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.