Sony shows 17-in-1 memory card reader

Got lots of memory cards you need to connect to your computer? Sony's new MRW62E S1/171 - what a mouthful - lets you plug in 17 different types of memory card, including all of its Memory Stick varieties.

Sony's 17-in-1 card reader: small box, many formats

The unit's ready to use: just plug in into a spare USB 2.0 port and slide in a card. Sony could only name 15 cards types: MMC, RS-MMC, SD, Mini SD, SDHC, xD, SmartMedia, CompactFlash, Microdrive, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Micro and MagicGate Memory Stick. The 'missing' two formats are presumably more of Sony's Memory Stick miscellany.

The unit's USP? Windows-only software that displays an appropriate icon for the kind of card you've just inserted into the MRW62E S1/171. There's no Mac OS X version of the utility, but then the Apple OS displays the right icon anyway.

Available later this month, the card reader comes with a two-year warranty. Sony did not specify a price.