Sonnet Technologies has announced its Qio professional universal media reader/writer for in-studio or on-location apps. The system features dual P2, SxS and CompactFlash slots, and has the ability to transfer information between two different cards simultaneously. It provides an integrated SATA controller which is based on the companies Tempo SATA E4P SATA card, and enables the four eSATA ports to connect with either Fusion F2 portable 2-drive RAID SATA storage systems or four-drive enclosures with port multipliers.

The system also comes with a 21-in-1 multimedia memory card adapter for supporting most memory card types, and transfers data between cards or attached drives with an accumulated bandwidth of up-to 250MBps. Qio features a small compact design cased in an aluminum shell, and stands approximately 5” x 6.2” x 1.22” in diameter.

Qio requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher, and has been Snow Leopard tested. The system is scheduled for release in October of 2009, with a suggested retail price of $1000 when equipped with either a PCI Express card or an ExpressCard/34 interface card. Additional Fusion F2 cards will also be available ranging from $500 to $600, depending on the 5400rpm or 7200rpm 2.5-inch drives.