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SanDisk's latest flagship SD card supports extremely fast write speeds, 4K video
With affordable 4K cameras from Panasonic and Sony set to ship soon, it's time for flash memory manufacturers to begin readying stockpiles of high-speed SD cards. Today, SanDisk is announcing its latest flagship, the Extreme Pro SDHC/SDXC UHS-II. It exceeds the new UHS Speed Class (U3) spec, supporting continuous write speeds of up to 250MB/s. While the card is most appropriate for folks shooting 4K video, it'll also come in handy when you're snapping continuous RAW stills at high frame rates, letting you unload the camera's buffer just as quickly as you can fill it. The new cards will ship in April in 16GB to 64GB capacities, with prices ranging from $120 to $300. There's also a new U3 card reader that's designed to let you take full advantage of the SDXC card's 280MB/s transfer speeds. That device will also be available in April, with a $50 MSRP. Update: The card supports a 250MB/s write speed, as originally reported. The read speed measures 280MB/s.
New SD card format is speedy enough for 4K video
Outside of a few smartphones, 4K video capture has largely been limited to pro-level hardware; the SD cards in regular cameras frequently can't handle so many pixels at once. That won't be a problem in the near future, as the SD Association has just unveiled an Ultra High Speed Class 3 (U3) card format that's up to the job. The spec guarantees write performance of at least 30 MB/s, or enough bandwidth to record 4K clips without hiccups. You'll have to wait for U3-capable devices and cards to begin shooting, but it shouldn't be long before you can produce footage worthy of your Ultra HD TV.
Panasonic confirms pricing, ship dates for 2011 LCD TV models
Even while its newest plasmas are starting to show up on store shelves Panasonic so far is only issuing a press release with pricing and availability for its 2011 LCD HDTVs so far, confirming much of the retailer info leaked to HDGuru recently. While the 37- and 32-inch DT30 (pictured above) will both ship in April for $1,299 and $1,199, respectively and include the newly upgraded Viera Connect (now with Hulu Plus) smart TV platform, 3D features and more, some of the lower end lines like the E3 and X30 series will make do with a stripped-down Easy IPTV package featuring just the basics -- Netflix, Amazon VOD, Napster, Pandora, Facebook and CinemaNow. Check the full release after the break for all the details, we'll just be waiting around for the big boy VT and GT plasma TVs to make landfall in the coming weeks assuming the rest of the early info holds true.
Microsoft working up StartKey Windows companion
If you'll recall, Microsoft announced that it was teaming up with SanDisk last May to conjure up a suitable U3 replacement. Not quite a year later, we're starting to hear the first whispers of what that replacement may be. Purportedly dubbed StartKey, the so-called Windows companion would essentially allow users to "carry their Windows and Windows Live settings with them" on any sort of flash memory device -- be it a USB drive, SD card, etc. Interestingly, it's also being reported that Redmond would like to "build an end-to-end StartKey environment," but aside from the tidbit that it should be out in at least beta form by the year's end, pretty much everything else remains murky.[Via ArsTechnica, image courtesy of Tom's Hardware]
Motorola's ROKR U9, U3 and W5 pictured / detailed
While whispers and supposed shots of Motorola's ROKR U9 have been around for a tick, the PEBL-icious handset -- along with the similarly styled U9 and the W5 clamshell -- are finally getting detailed. Reportedly, the U9 will tout a 1.4-inch 160 x 128 resolution OLED (externally), two-megapixel camera, GSM / GPRS / EDGE connectivity, a 1.8-inch QVGA screen (internal), microSD expansion slot, USB, Bluetooth, and "touch sensitive keys." The U3 looks to be an entry-level sibling with a less attractive external display and a VGA camera, while the ROKR W5 will purportedly include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 1.9-inch 220 x 176 resolution display, 20MB of internal storage, a microSD slot, 96 x 85 pixel external screen, miniUSB, Bluetooth, A2DP support, and quad-band GSM connectivity. No word on pricing or release dates just yet, but do click on for a few more pictures.Read - ROKR U9Read - ROKR W5Read - ROKR U3
Asus U3 laptop gets official
The Asus U3, which we told you about back in the hot and humid days of July, has gotten its official announcement from the company -- and it looks pretty sweet. The Santa Rosa-based, 13.3-inch laptop still rocks a Core 2 Duo processor (in T7500, T7300, T7100, T5450, T5250, CM540), a Nvidia GeForce G8400M G External graphics chipset, up to 2.5GB of RAM, and a 160GB SATA hard drive. In the communications department, the U3 packs 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0, but apparently the GPS we mentioned will be offered as an option along with 3G connectivity and turbo memory. The system also includes a slew of ports, like eSATA, HDMI, GPS RF in, USB, Firewire, VGA/D-Sub, and TV out, plus rocks a built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam and fingerprint reader. Luckily for you fashion plates, Asus has stuck with the leather-bound hand rests and "piano black" exterior, all wrapped up in a magnesium aluminum alloy, which the company thinks is perfect for "metropolitan professionals." The laptop is rumored to be available in September for around $2000.[Via Laptoping]
Asus U3 caught on film
Asus, a company that's pushing some pretty interesting and innovative products into the spotlight as of late, is stepping up to bat with another new entry, dubbed the U3. The 13.3-inch ultraportable rocks a Billy Joel-approved "piano black" exterior, with a smooth, sensual leather finish on the palm rests, making it stylistically quite distinctive. The U3 features the much-loved Santa Rosa chipset, and will likely utilize one of Intel's low voltage Core 2 Duo processors (the L7500, for instance), but that's just where the fun begins on this baby. The jam-packed specs include integrated GPS, HDMI and S-Video outs, eSATA, USB, and Firewire ports; SD and ExpressCard 54 slots; and an NVIDIA 8400M graphics chipset -- which can be switched off via hardware for power conservation. Asus reps say the system is due in September at a price point somewhere around $2,000.[Thanks, Coriolis]
Samsung YP-U3 priced and in the wild
Samsung's YP-U3 just made an appearance in France where Generation MP3 pulled an exclusive first look at the nostalgic YEPP audio stick. While confirming the specs we've already seen, GMP3 tells us that the U3 will be set free in Europe this June with prices topping out at €129/$174 for what figures to be the 4GB player. But it's not like we're saving up or anything.
Microsoft and SanDisk team up on U3 replacement
The U3 standard for machine-independent applications isn't exactly an aging one, but it seems that Microsoft and SanDisk have found some room for improvement, announcing today that they've teamed up to create a "new experience" for USB flash drives and memory cards. According to the two companies, the new technology will expand on and replace U3, and will let users carry their full personal computing environment (including their familiar interface) with them in addition to a few applications. As with U3, you also supposedly won't have to worry about anything being left behind on the computer after you unplug the drive. You'll have to get by with the standard U3 drives for a while longer though, as the new and improved version won't be rolling out until the second half of 2008, with the first such drives coming, naturally, from SanDisk.
Motorola PEBL U3e rocks the FCC
The PEBL design meme seems to be one of the less-loved in Moto's hallowed halls, with relatively few models released -- so far, anyway -- bearing the PEBL name. Imagine our surprise, then, to find this little gem up in the FCC's business today. The so-called "MOTOPEBL U3e," a GSM handset with EDGE, bears a rather striking resemblance not to the original V6, but to the CDMA U6c. In fact, we'd go so far to say that the U3e is the U6c's GSM counterpart, despite the bizarre model number convention here. As best we can tell, this one rocks four bands of radio (well, at least two -- 850 and 1900 -- but we're guessing there are another two packed in there) and appears to be a low-end piece likely destined as an entry-level fashion phone for various carriers around the globe. We'll personally pass, but we're not gonna fault anyone for digging it.
Where are the Mac OS X portable applications?
I just bought a 2GB SanDisk Cruzer micro drive from Best Buy (on a killer $45 sale this week, at least in CO by the way), and it offers support for 'portable applications' for Windows (and I'm sure Linux too, though I admittedly don't follow the big penguin that closely). In case you aren't familiar: portable applications, in this context, mean that an app (again, on Windows) can be installed on one of these mobile drives as well as run from it, including preference files and the like (the actual spec is called U3, and SanDisk has a hand in it, in case you're curious). For example: one could install a copy of Firefox on this drive and run it on a public or work PC, with all browser history, preferences and bookmarks saved on the drive - not on the host PC (these applications all have to be custom-built, and the U3 board has to approve them into the fold). Setting aside any obligatory discussion about security, this is an absolutely killer ability for the mobile nerd in many of us.Now I know most Mac OS X applications can run fine from one of these drives; heck, I run a few myself, including utilities for my iPod which I simply store right on the iPod (yes, it can do that, as long as you turn on disk use from iTunes). But why hasn't the second half of this 'portable applications' concept caught on with the Mac OS Xiverse? This concept and these apps could rock everyone's world, from the mobile student to freelancers and even the techies who are supporting Macs for businesses big and small.So where are they?Is the Mac OS X community simply not as worried about leaving their Firefox browsing history lying around on public machines? I doubt it. Are developers just not interested? Not likely. Could this be an example of the Mac community lying down while a truly useful innovation is dangling in our faces? Instead of throwing down my speculation, I'd rather open this up for discussion. What say you, TUAW readers?
Toshiba's TransMemory flash drives reach 16GB, go U3
We're not so massively fond of the whole U3 machine-independent application and computing package thing, but if there's one thing we can get behind, it's a big ol' damned flash memory drive. Toshiba's new TransMemory line, which they're launching in November in sizes from 512MB to 4GB, are all well and good, but only the 16GB Limited Edition due in December would have gotten get us through the year (what with the occasional Vista build and Leopard beta and all). Of course, as with the other 8GB+ flash memory drives, we leave it to Toshiba to ensure we aren't extorted for five or more figures in order to get our unworthy hands on one.[Via FarEastGizmos]
Kingston 2GB U3 Data Traveler includes ACDSee, Pass2Go
The U3 standard for mobile applications continues to gain steam, with Kingston being just one of the latest to add another U3-compatible flash drive to its lineup. The U3 Data Traveler, now in capacities of up to 2GB, comes bundled with mobile versions of the Pass2Go password manager, the ACDSee image browsing application and the Zinio e-reader. It would be nice if Kingston could also throw in mobile versions of apps like Firefox and Thunderbird, but it's easy enough to download them from the U3 site. Kingston's a little vague on whether the software on the drive consists of free "lite" versions, or trials of the full-featured programs, so don't be surprised if you're hit with nags after using the drive for a while. The 1GB version has an MSRP of $47, while the 2GB goes for $75.
