Super Talent Technology says its PICO-C Gold 8GB USB flash drive is the "world's smallest," comes in a 24-carat gold shell and is water resistant to boot. The tiny drive is smaller than a standard SD card and weighs less than a nickel. The device ships with a gold chain, and "looks more like a fashion accessory than a high performance flash drive," the company said.
Sandisk on Tuesday introduced the "WORM," or "Write Once Read Many" SD card for professional uses such as storing evidence in police investigations, court testimony, medical records and electronic voting. Sandisk claims original data written to WORM cards are "effectively locked" and there is "no physical way to alter or delete the files." If stored properly, the company claims, WORM SD cards have an archive live of up to 100 years.
Memory maker SanDisk has announced the FlashBack Adapter, a new storage add-on for notebooks. The device plugs into a notebook's ExpressCard slot, and automatically backs up key files on a computer using special Windows software. A key difference with alternatives is that the FlashBack utilizes SD or SDHC cards, for a maximum storage capacity of 32GB. Neither cards nor the adapter protrude when inserted.
Panasonic has announced the first 32GB SDHC card in its Pro High Speed series, currently consisting of memory ranging from 1 to 16GB. Though the company inaccurately claims to have the "world's first" 32GB Class 6 (6MB/s) card -- SanDisk having announced a new Ultra II in late January -- it is faster than most known to be in development, beating the Ultra II with a 20MB/s transfer rate versus 15MB/s.
SanDisk is preparing the release of two new SDHC cards in its Ultra II line. The preeminent one is a 32GB model, representing the largest possible size for the SDHC format; this is still rarely seen in the commercial market. Unlike Toshiba's rival card however, the SanDisk card writes at a fast 15MBs, making it more suitable for HD camcorders and SLRs like the Nikon D80. It will ship in April for approximately $350, bundled with a MicroMate USB 2.0 reader.
Prolific memory maker Kingston has upgraded its line of SDHC memory cards, which now includes a 16GB model. The SD4/16GB is the largest SDHC option from the company, and should theoretically be able to hold over four hours of six-megapixel video, or some 5,080 JPEG photos captured at an eight-megapixel resolution. Unlike Kingston's other SDHC options however, the 16GB card is strictly available at Class 4 speeds (4MBs+), whereas the 4 and 8GB cards can also be had in Class 2 and Class 6 editions. Buying an SD4/16GB costs $231.
Sonnet today unveiled its new 21-in-one Multimedia Memory Card Reader and Writer ExpressCard/34 product, allowing users to read information from and write information to over 21 different media card types. The card, designed to sit flush with the edge of a MacBook Pro, the reader will take media from MP3 players, digital cameras and picture frames, cell phones and other devices that use Memory Sticks, MMC, SD, XD, among others. Sonnet is selling the device for $30, and requires a MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger or later.
WeaKnees.com has recently unveiled upgraded Series 3 TiVo DVRs, featuring both an internal and external hard drive, each rated at one terabyte. The hard drives work in tandem to provide 292 hours of HD video storage – up from TiVo's current 20 to 30 hours – or 2800 hours of standard definition video. The units come with cables, a backlit, programmable remote, and a six month warranty for parts, labor and technical support. WeaKnees.com is selling the upgraded TiVos for $1800, and are offering a $200 mail-in rebate
