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Flash Memory

17 December 2008

Patriot Memory, a global provider of premium quality memory module and flash memory solutions, today announced their 256GB Warp SSD v3. Patriot's newest Warp version boasts read and write speeds up to 240MB/sec and 160MB/s, respectively.

"Our new 256GB Warp SSD v3 now gives the consumer the fastest data-transfer rates plus all the storage space large enough to quench their multimedia thirst," says Meng Jay, Flash Product Manager for Patriot Memory. "It wasn't long ago that SSD's maxed out at 64GB with read speeds of 130MB/s, now with the Warp v3 we literally 'Warp' into capacities that most consumers demand and speeds far faster than current conventional hard drives.

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Software

17 December 2008

Roxio has announced a new online service that allows consumers to create and share multimedia slideshows on professionally produced DVDs. The new Roxio PhotoShow DVD service leads users through the process of creating a DVDin three easy steps.

Just in time for the holidays, Roxio is introducing a new online service that enables consumers to create and share stunning multimedia slideshows on professionally produced DVDs. A perfect solution for last-minute shoppers, the new Roxio PhotoShow DVD service allows consumers to quickly turn personal photos and video clips into an expressive multimedia slideshow. Users can also create personalized disc and cover artwork based on a pre-designed style. Finalized projects are then produced, tested, packaged and shipped from a professional DVD production facility. The service is available today at www.roxio.com. DVDs usually cost $29.99; however, for a limited time, Roxio is offering a special savings coupon code (DVDOFFER) worth $10 off the purchase price.

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Optical Storage

17 December 2008

Just in time for Christmas, Verbatim will present a recordable BD-R 2x Dual Layer with 50GB of storage capacity with 2x burning rate. The new Verbatim Blu-ray Disc is suitable for recording films in high definition, backing up large amounts of office data and the long-term archiving of photos and music. The Verbatim BD-R 2x DL 50GB is now available in stores in a 5-pack jewel case and a 10-disc spindle.

Verbatim’s new Blu-ray disc offers, with 50GB of storage capacity, space for up to 270 minutes (MPEG2) of entertainment in HD-quality for the whole family. The burning time takes 93 minutes. Those BDs are exceptionally resistant because of the Verbatim specific HardCoat-technology: Its superior anti-static and anti-scratch properties protect the BD data layer, that is close to the surface of the disc, against scratches, fingerprints and dust particles. “Thanks to the hard coat protective layer and recording technologies developed by our proprietary company Mitsubishi Kagaku Media, customers can be confident they have media of the highest quality”, says Torsten Leye, Marketing Manager Optical at Verbatim EUMEA.

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Flash Memory

16 December 2008

Toshiba and SanDisk announced this week that they will be temporarily cutting back the production of NAND flash memory by 30% at their manufacturing facilities in Yokkaichi, Japan. The two companies decided to cut production due to the decreased demand for flash memory caused by the recent recession and slowdown in consumer spending.

SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced temporary cuts to its Flash wafer production in its joint-venture manufacturing facilities in Yokkaichi, Japan. Production in Fab 3 and Fab 4 will be temporarily halted from December 31 to January 12. Following this shut-down, joint venture production will resume at approximately 70 percent of current capacity. The duration and extent of this reduction in fab output will depend upon market conditions. These steps will result in higher wafer cost due to underutilization of capacity; however, they are expected to better align SanDisk’s captive output in 2009 with the projected demand in the current global economic slowdown.

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Hard Disks

16 December 2008

With the rising popularity of netbooks, PC vendors are under pressure to reduce costs by all means possible. In response to these cost reductions, Seagate, Western Digital and Hitachi have begun to develop low-cost 2.5-inch hard disk drives. By minimizing the cost of drive ICs, magnetic platters, and pick-up heads, these new models are expected to be priced 40-50% less than existing entry-level 2.5-inch hard drives.

Seagate Technology, Western Digital and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, in response to the calls for cost reductions from PC vendors, are developing low-cost 2.5-inch hard disk drives (HDDs) for use in netbooks and other low-cost PCs. The HDDs are targeted to be 40-50% less expensive than existing 2.5-inch entry-level HDD models. Availability could start as early as the second half of 2009, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

As the consensus among PC vendors is that low-cost PCs will dominate the global market in 2009, they are under pressure to reduce production costs by all means possible, the sources indicated. For netbooks, the cost of key components including CPUs, LCD panels, optical disc drives and batteries mostly fall between US$20 and US$25 each while a 2.5-inch HDD can cost as high as US$43-45, thus making them the target for cost reduction, the sources pointed out.

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Flash Memory

15 December 2008

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable DVD, flash media, electronic storage products, and digital accessories, is adding photo recovery software to its new 300X SLC based and 233x Lightning Series of CompactFlash® cards. Although the professional's choice 233X card boasts less than a one per cent return rate, Ridata is adding a photo recovery software download on its site accessible after product registration that will recover up to 80 per cent of lost photos due to a variety of hardware or card issues.

"Photographers make their livelihood through photographs. As memory card products become more sophisticated by offering higher speeds and more capacity, we need additional safeguards to ensure each and every photo is accurately recorded," commented Harvey Liu, president of Advanced Media, Inc. "To that end, our photo recovery software will correct user, hardware or in the worst event, memory card problems. In today's digital, flash media world, dependability matters and Ridata has it."

Most photo storage problems occur when battery power is running low or the user turns off the camera while it is still writing data to the card. Ridata's photo recovery software can effectively recover lost, deleted, corrupted or quick formatted photos.

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Flash Memory

15 December 2008

Sony sent out a press release today, announcing a  new series of its MicroVault Click USB flash drives pre-loaded with movies and music. Starting in December, the company will be offering a 2GB Click drive pre-loaded with the “Thriller: 25^th Anniversary Edition” album as well as the movies “The Da Vinci Code” and “Men in Black" on a 4GB drive.

Sony is bringing some of the top music and movie titles in entertainment history to consumers in an easy-to-use, portable electronic format. The company is introducing a new series of its MicroVault® Click USB flash drives pre-loaded with a choice of either “Thriller: 25th Anniversary Edition” – the best-selling album of all time – or the blockbuster movies “The Da Vinci Code” and “Men in Black.”

“We’re excited to provide consumers with a new way to enjoy some of today’s most popular titles, using our MicroVault Click USB flash drives,” said Shane Higby, director of marketing for Sony Electronics’ consumer media group. “By pre-loading content in this way, we are expanding the applications for flash drives, while offering a unique value that only Sony can deliver.”

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Other

15 December 2008

Canadians will soon be paying more for their blank CDs. The Copyright Board Of Canada recently issued a decision that will increase the private copying levy on all blank CDs from 21¢ to 29¢ for the years 2008 and 2009.

The Copyright Board of Canada issued today a decision on private copying levies for the years 2008 and 2009. The decision maintains the rate for audiocassettes at 24¢, and increases the rate for all CDs to 29¢. Since 2001, the certified rate for CDs had been 21¢.

“Two main factors led the Board to raise the CD levy rate to 29¢”, said Claude Majeau, Secretary General of the Board. “First, the mechanical royalties that record labels pay to record a song onto a prerecorded CD have increased. Second, because consumers now use compression technology when they record music, the average number of music tracks copied onto a CD went from 15 to more than 18.” 

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Flash Memory

12 December 2008

OCZ Technology today announced the launch of its new Gold Series Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) flash memory cards. Designed and optimized for HD video enthusiasts and photography professionals, this Class 6 rated card is capable of a 150X write rate and is available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities.

OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the launch of its new Gold Series Secure Digital™ High-Capacity (SDHC) flash memory cards, to offer professional phographers and videographers unbridled performance combined with ample storage capabilities for high-resolution pictures and video. These premium memory cards offer photography enthusiasts incredible speeds and capacities to deliver the tailored storage they demand.

“OCZ’s new Gold Series SDHC cards are designed for professional photography and high definition video applications where enthusiasts demand the highest level of performance to match the file sizes and speed capabilities of their specialized cameras and video equipment,” commented Alex Mei, Chief Marketing Officer of the OCZ Technology Group. “The new Gold Series cards make use of premium quality flash and are optimized for shooting large RAW files with the latest D-SLR cameras and exceed the performance requirements of the latest 1080 high definition camcorders.”

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