Verbatim is launching a simple and ingenious solution for combining digital media with paper: the Red dot ‘Best of the Best’ Award-winning Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go Clip-it USB Drive. Available in a range of vibrant colours, Verbatim’s Clip-it USB drive combines flash storage with the simple functionality of a paperclip, making it a wonderfully practical solution for daily business or private users. The Verbatim Clip-it USB Drive is now available with storage capacities of 2GB and 4GB.

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Designed by Arman Emami, Clip-it has been awarded the accolade of Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’ 2010. The Clip-it USB drive makes it easier for you to keep all your data together in one place, whether it is electronic or not. Now you can send and store documents together with media files without having to use CD’s or email attachments.

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VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated chip controllers, today announced its latest USB 3.0 product, the VIA Labs VL750 Super-Speed USB to NAND flash controller, a revolutionary single-chip solution for the next generation of USB flash drives. The VIA Labs VL750 is the first of its kind in the world, featuring a 4-channel memory controller with interleaving support to offer consumers blisteringly fast data transfer speeds of 100MB/s or more, depending on configuration.

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The VIA Labs VL750’s four channel design dramatically improves data throughput over dual or single channel designs by offering more bandwidth and improved parallelization. “VIA Labs is ahead of the pack by some distance when it comes to offering a complete USB 3.0 eco-system that now includes host, hub and NAND flash controller products,” said David Hsu, Associate Vice President, VIA Labs, Inc. “The VIA Labs VL750 will pave the way for fast, affordable, and large capacity flash drives of 32GB or more. Large files will become infinitely more manageable with most transfers completing in just a few seconds.”

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Imation Corp., a market leader in data storage, expanded its award-winning Apollo family of external hard disk drives (EHDD) to provide leading-edge technology, professional design and stylish value for portable and desktop storage.

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The updated Apollo line delivers solutions ranging from personal to professional use, updated designs and next-generation software that simplifies, automates and personalizes backup for up to two terabytes (TB) of data. In addition, the portfolio’s flagship drive, the Apollo Expert D300, employs leading-edge USB 3.0 technology to move data up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0-based drives.

“The explosion of large multimedia files, such as high-resolution photos and video, and the fact that even small businesses can be data-intensive, means households and businesses need to capture and save more digital information than ever,” says Jason Elles, global brand leader for Imation. “Whether they’re seeking exceptional value or high speeds, using a drive personally or professionally, or backing up their desktop or managing data on the go, there’s an Apollo external hard drive to utilize.”

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CyberLink Corp. is pleased to announce the availability of a free update for PowerDVD 10, adding significant new home theater capabilities in the latest NVIDIA® GeForce™ graphics cards. With NVIDIA’s new graphics driver (v260) and the updated version of PowerDVD, full high definition 3D video can be enjoyed on a 3D HDTV through an HDMI 1.4 compatible connection. This is the first ever combination of hardware and software capable of playing Blu-ray 3D on a PC, connecting in full 1080p stereoscopic 3D to a 3D HDTV.

PowerDVD allows home theater enthusiasts to stream the full, uncompressed multi-channel Blu-ray audio through the same HDMI connection, letting movie lovers enjoy the ultimate surround sound experience on their AV Receiver. Blu-ray disc movies support lossless audio with up to 24 bits per sample for extended dynamic range and ultra-low noise levels. Sampling frequencies of up to 192 KHz deliver an extended frequency response, for the highest fidelity home theater experience. On supported hardware platforms including the latest NVIDIA graphics boards, full-quality Blu-ray disc audio can be enjoyed through an HDMI connection to a compatible Audio/Video receiver.

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Seagate today announced that its groundbreaking Momentus Self-Encrypting Drive, the world’s first laptop hard drive with built-in encryption to protect against unauthorized access to information on lost or stolen mobile computers, has secured FIPS 140-2 certification from the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The key government certification clears the way for deployments of Momentus Self-Encrypting Drives (SEDs) by all U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, many state and local governments, and regulated industries such as healthcare, finance and defense required to use FIPS-certified gear to help protect sensitive data on PCs and computer networks. Many utility, education and transportation entities also have adopted the FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 standard to lock down confidential information. Foreign governments in addition to Canada also recognize FIPS-validated products. The Momentus SED is the first hard drive with native encryption to earn the FIPS certification.

“The FIPS 140-2 certification exemplifies Seagate’s commitment to security standards that enable the widespread adoption of encrypting hard drives for laptops and other computers as the explosive growth of laptop PCs puts more sensitive personal and business information at risk,” said Dave Mosley, executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. “Today’s NIST approval gives our system builder and end-user customers the peace of mind that Momentus ® Self-Encrypting Drives deliver the full power of government-grade security.”

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Kingston Digital today announced it is shipping its first USB 3.0 Flash drive. The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 Flash drive takes advantage of the faster USB 3.0 specification that has up to ten times the data transfer rates of the current USB 2.0 specification.

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The DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 has a read speed of 80 MB/sec. and a write speed of 60MB/sec. It is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities. The combination of speed and size makes it ideal for data backup or fast transferring of large files including music, photos and videos. To ensure backwards compatibility, Kingston is also including a Y cable as some USB 2.0 ports require it to initialize USB 3.0 drives.

"USB 3.0 is the next major milestone in Flash memory for USB products and Kingston wants to have a solution in the marketplace for early adopters," said Andrew Ewing, USB business manager, Kingston. "The DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 is our first USB 3.0 Flash drive offering and is designed for enthusiasts who like to embrace new technology before it goes mainstream."

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LaCie today announced the availability of the first RAID storage solution to incorporate the new USB 3.0 technology – the LaCie 2big USB 3.0. In addition to the 2big USB 3.0, LaCie also announces the availability of its award-winning single-disk professional solution with a USB 3.0 port – the LaCie d2 USB 3.0.

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Developed for professionals who require high capacity and fast transfer speeds, the LaCie 2big USB 3.0 offers the highest performances ever achieved in a USB 3.0 external storage solution, up to 205MB/s – setting a new standard in the market.

The LaCie 2big USB 3.0 is available in up to a 4TB capacity, allowing users to store and transfer large files without waiting. In fact, you can transfer a 50GB Blu-ray disk in less than five minutes, which is six times faster than USB 2.0. The 2big USB 3.0 is backward compatible with USB 2.0, making it dependable for transfers with any workstation.

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Pioneer Japan sent out a press release this morning, announcing its new 12x Blu-ray Disc writer, the BDR-S06J. This Serial ATA equipped drive is capable of 12x BD-R, 12x BD-R DL, 6x BD-R LTH, 2x BD-RE and 2x BD-RE DL writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 8x. The BDR-S06J also includes features like Pioneer's PowerRead and PureRead2 technologies as well as an advanced firmware that reduces noise by adjusting the rotation speed when playing movies. Pioneer rounds all this out with a software bundle from CyberLink that supports Blu-ray 3D playback via PowerDVD 9.

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The BDR-S06J is scheduled to ship in early October and is expected to cost about 30,000 Yen ($361US).

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DigiTimes has reported that CMC Magnetics recently obtained certifcation from the Blu-ray Disc Association for its 50GB 6x BD-R DL media. According to the article, they are the first manufacturer outside of Japan to do so.

CMC Magnetics, the largest Taiwan-based maker of blank optical discs, on September 13 announced it has obtained certification from the Blu-ray Disc (BD) Association for its 50GB single-sided double-layer (DL) BD-R (recordable) discs at 6x write/read speed and has started volume production with monthly shipment volume to reach 150,000-200,000 discs beginning October 2010.

CMC is the first maker other than Japan-based ones to obtain the certification, the company pointed out. Based on the technology, CMC has been developing more advanced 3-layer and 4-layer BD-R formats, BDXL, the company indicated

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silicon power unique 530 usb flash drive.jpgWorld leading flash memory manufacturer, Silicon Power today announced their Unique 530 that features a sporty style. The “green” silica gel material is pliable and simple in design showing an original sports styling look. The Unique 530 is trendy and available for customers who are fashion conscious.

Silicon Power is always in tune with the ever changing trend and to satisfy various customer needs. The result is the creation of Unique 530, in response to the LOHAS lifestyle, wrapped in an eco-friendly silica gel that is clean, natural and sporty for you to express personal style.

Covered in a unique and soft silica gel material that is comfortable to grip, Unique 530 sets itself apart from other frigid IT products on the market. The silica gel casing makes it more durable than most USB flash drives. It is technologically advanced as the industry’s first to fuse and blend metallic accessories with the eco-friendly silica gel material. The metallic accessories can withstand up to 10kg of pull-force so users can attach it to mobile phones, key chains or bag/ purse carefree.

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