8GB ExpressCard Flash Memory cards debut
updated 06:05 pm EST, Wed December 13, 2006
8GB ExpressCards debut
Japanese firm Hagiwara today revealed its new ExpressCard Flash Memory cards, making use of the more recent ExpressCard/34 standard to eliminate the transfer rate bottlenecks that many plague USB and PC Card adapters. Using a faster single-level cell flash memory, host systems can read the card at 35MB per second and write to the media 22MB per second, comparing more closely with portable hard drives, according to Electronista. The card's extra speed is beneficial to both Apple's MacBook Pro and Windows PCs but is especially useful for the upcoming Windows Vista, according to Hagiwara.
When plugged in to a system running Windows Vista, the ExpressCard functions as a fast ReadyBoost cache that helps program load and response times by offloading work from the hard drive. Hagiwara is due to ship the card in 4GB ($237) and 8GB ($450) capacities on December 20th -- ahead of Microsoft's Windows Vista launch. 1GB ($68) and 2GB ($126) models are already available, according to the report.
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2001
Fast?
This is slower than what is theoretically possible with both USB2 and Firewire!? The bottleneck isn't the connection technology, but the read/write speed of the flash memory.