Sony Develops Memory Stick Recorder

Sony is rolling out a PVR equipped with its Memory Stick storage medium, designed to record television content for playback on handheld devices such as Sony's Clie personal digital assistant. The new PEGA-VR100K has a built-in television tuner that can receive VHF channels from 1-12 and UHF broadcast from 13-62. It also has an external antenna connector, standard RCA input and output jacks and software for downloading television listings to a handheld. The PEGA-VR100K is expected to retail for around 30,000 yen (around $260) and record around 130 minutes of programming, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. Sony Japan will release the device in November, when it will also start marketing a 2.5-inch LCD-screen TV with Memory Stick recording capability. The TV, the MSV-A1 is expected to sell for around 45,000 yen, (around $390). Both products will be rolled out in Japan.