Lexar Memory Sticks / MS Gate Compatible ?

[RD100]

I am planning to buy a Lexar 128meg memory stick for my S360. I heard some memory sticks are MS Gate compatible and some aren't. Which ones are MS Gate compatible ?

1. Should I care about MS Gate compatibility ? What is it ? Do I really benefit by having a stick which is MS Gate compatible ?

I have an MS Gate app on my PDA from Sony, and I can see it is some type of file management utility (which seems very cool !). Are there other free programs which look and work like MS Gate, which don't require an MS Gate compatible stick ?

2. Are Lexar sticks good quality ? Has anybody run into problems using them ?

3. Which memory sticks are MS Gate compatible ?

If you've never run the MS Gate app, it pays to just try it, even if you don't have a MS memory stick installed. It seems useful even without the stick, because it shows all of your apps, and all of the databases associated to each app, and their respective files sizes. IT'S A VERY COOL APP !!

:D :D :D

[n2ifp]

Only the White Magic Gate 128MB stick is Magic Gate compatible. It is only needed for Sony's proprietary ATRAC3 music format, everything else is the same for apps and MP3's. Oh yeah, one other difference, the price, Magic Gate sticks cost more.

[ksjenkins]

I have several Lexar MS's. They work great. I have all MP3's and have never tried the ATRAC3 format. I'm confused by the MS Gate reference, do you mean the Sony Propritary MS (White Magic Gate MS) or are you talking about the MS Gate app on the Clie? The MS Gate app is a basic file manager which should work with all MS's that conform to the MS standard. Magic Gate is a MS that supports Sony's ATRAC3 format for secure DRM of music files.

Hope that helps!

[RD100]

Thanks for the replies!

I browsed a few websites, and you are correct. "Magic Gate compatible" is the phrase I didn't understand ... not "MS Gate compatible". I guess the MS Gate software on my PDA is what confused me into remembering it as "MS Gate compatible".

Since my S360 isn't really an MP3 type PDA, I won't need a Magic Gate compatible MS. 

But I do like the MS Gate file manager app that Sony provided.  I use FileZ for file management now, but Sony's MS Gate displays related files (apps and associated data files) in a better format.

:D :D :D

[daroga]

As far as I know (someone correct me if I've been mis-informed) Lexar Memory Sticks ARE Sony memory sticks. They're made in the same factory, just one has a different logo on the outside.

As far as CompactFlash and other media like it goes, you can't do better than Lexar. I think you're safe either way.

Tim

[Unregistered]

sorry, not compatible at all, unless you also download the japanese drivers to enable flash in/out

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by daroga
As far as I know (someone correct me if I've been mis-informed) Lexar Memory Sticks ARE Sony memory sticks. They're made in the same factory, just one has a different logo on the outside.

As far as CompactFlash and other media like it goes, you can't do better than Lexar. I think you're safe either way.

Tim

I don't know that to be true, the SanDisk looks to be an exact clone. I just know that some Lexar users had complained of problems with the stick staying in the slot.