Celebrate cheap technology with an 8Gb memory upgrade!

My Sony PSP needed more memory capacity. The 512Mb memory stick that came with it was filled with MP3's, game saves and downloaded content from the internet. After looking for the best deal on the internet, I settled for paying $53 for a 8Gb Sony MS-MT8G from the web retailer Amazon. Once it arrived, I quickly filled my new stick, now the MS-MT8G Memory stick is already 75% full of MP3, PSP ISO's and picture content! The best improvement PSP owners can expect from increased memory capacity is the ability to store entire games in memory. Running a game from memory decreases load time and can help save battery life by reducing the need for the disk drive to spin.

The Sony MS-MT8G can be used in more devices than just the Sony PSP. The Sony K750i phone, Sony Cyber Shot DSC T100 camera, Sony VAIO VGN-SZ480 computer, Sony Cybershot N2, Sony DSC-H5, AVCHD and most other Sony memory stick compatible devices can use the Sony 8Gb memory stick.

Technologies
PRO
The "PRO" designation in this product's name simply means it's more than 512MB.

MagicGate
The card is also MagicGate compatible meaning it can be used in certain Sony products that require copy protection schemes. You should be aware that most devices that use Sony memory sticks do not support the MagicGate technology.

Vista ReadyBoost
The Sony MSX-M2GN Memory stick is compatible with Windows Vista's ReadyBoost feature. ReadyBoost uses a high-speed flash memory card to cache certain system files in lieu of using the hard disk, thus boosting system performance. Using ReadyBoost-capable flash memory (NAND memory devices) for caching allows Windows Vista to service random disk reads with performance that is typically 80-100 times faster than random reads from traditional hard drives.

Mark2
Sony gives the memory stick a Mark2 rating. The rating indicates that the memory stick is suitable for high speed recording devices such as AVCHD camcorders.

File Rescue
If you do not want to build your own homebrew PSP, I encourage you to check out Ebay for auction listings from sellers who have done the service already to their PSP. Normally these hacked PSP's go for about 10% more than a stock unit. In fact my own PSP, was bought this way and I am very happy with the system.

Purchasing Advice And Counterfeit Protection
Ebay has been having problems with mislabeled 8Gb memory sticks lately. Users in PSP forums report getting cards that have half the rated capacity and problems with contacting the seller for a return. If the auction or online retailer's price is too good to be true, chances are it is a fake. Another symptom of counterfeit memory is slow performance.
To ensure you get an authorized Sony product make sure your memory card comes in a plastic container. On the bottom right corner of the front is a small hologram which reads Sony.

Construction
The card is made of a rigid black plastic material. The problem is that the plastic does not bend easily so if you drop it on a tile floor chances are high that it will shatter. For comparison, I also have 512Mb Sony memory stick, this stick is light blue in color and made of a more elastic type of plastic making it more resistant to drops.

Features
8 GB storage capacity with 7750 MB available
Designed to write speeds of 32 Mbps on high speed enabled devices The MS-MT8G has a speed rating of 210X. I found that my PSP does load games like Blitz Overtime about 5 seconds faster compared to any other memory stick I own.
Backwards compatible with most devices that use Memory Stick PRO Duo media

Summary
High capacity memory sticks are a sign that life is good for the portable gamer and digital photographer!

Websites
Wiki MagicGate discussion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MagicGate
File Rescue is data recovery software. The software is available for Sony memory stick media customers. For more details visit: http://www.sony.net/memorystick/supporte/

The Sony PSP
Just a few years after the release of the PSP, the portable gaming platform has in my opinion eclipsed the Nintendo DS in popularity. The reason is simple, the active homebrew community and easy file management that the onboard memory stick provides. Currently, Nintendo DS owners must purchase costly aftermarket hardware to add open sourced software. PSP owners can simply visit a menagerie of websites and download directly to their memory stick. After some frequent use however, the memory stick on the PSP inevitably fills up with content. The problem is solved by visiting your favorite electronics retailer, either on or offline, and by a memory stick.

The homebrew community has created custom kernel updates for the PSP that make the portable gaming experience fun. From running Super Nintendo and Gameboy emulators (yes even Gameboy Advance games on your PSP) to running custom games developed worldwide the kernel is the heart of this mod community. In fact, soon after the first proprietary UMD games were released the homebrew's figured out how to download and run the game from the memory stick. The driving force behind the fanatical memory stick market, PSP owners desire the most capacity from their memory cards so that they can have as many as eight full UMD games on a single card!