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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.
Toshiba's new SDHC cards can save to your camera, phone and cloud service all at once
Despite the introduction of a wireless LAN SD standard last year, WiFi SDHC cards are still a fairly rare animal, with pioneer Eye-Fi the alpha dog. If you're into it, though, Toshiba's just added a high-capacity 32GB SDHC FlashAir model that'll let you simultaneously share photos to your smartphone or tablet, the internet and of course, the card itself. It does that through a special "pass-through" mode that permits connection to a second access point, such as a router or PC, even while saving wirelessly to your handheld device. The cards will support class 10 speeds along with 802.11n WiFi (finally), and Toshiba's also supplying firmware to owners of older FlashAir WiFi cards to give them the same pass-through capability. It'll be up for grabs in Japan on November 18th and the rest of the world a bit later, with the price to be determined -- though a 16GB FlashAir is about $90, if that helps.
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.
Pentax K-3 DSLR boasts web-based remote shooting, antialiasing control
Pentax has focused most of its recent attention on entry-level photographers, but it's showing some renewed devotion to serious shutterbugs by launching the K-3. The new 24-megapixel DSLR supports a new WiFi-equipped SDHC card, FLU, that gives owners remote control of the camera through any device with a web browser. They'll also have more control over the shots themselves: a new antialiasing toggle lets users pick between smoothness and raw detail without having to switch cameras. An updated 27-point autofocus system and 8.3 fps burst shooting are also welcome upgrades over the K-5 II. The K-3 ships this November for $1,300 body-only, or $1,700 bundled with an 18-135mm lens; a 16GB FLU card will be available at the same time for $100.
Toshiba to show reference design for SDHC card with TransferJet at CES
SD cards won't be generating the same feverish hype as other gear breaking cover at CES, but nevertheless, Toshiba's let the world know it'll be bringing a new one to the show. The company won't have a finished product to flog, but instead will be exhibiting a reference design for an SDHC card with TransferJet technology. For those unfamiliar with TransferJet, it's a high-speed wireless transfer technology for sending and receiving files over short distances. While it isn't used nearly as much as its transfer protocol peers, hopefully it'll find some work to do if and when Toshiba takes its card from design to product.
Panasonic preps SD cards that survive heat, water and X-rays, will probably outlast you
Much ado has been made of weather-resistant cameras, but it's all a moot point if the memory card dies, isn't it? Panasonic wants that level of survivability in its SDHC and SDXC cards, and its new UHS-I-level SDAB and SDUB lines are tested for the kind of abuse that could see the camera give up the ghost first. The cards can take the kinds of punishment that we often associate with rugged gear, such as temperatures from -13F to 185F, immersion in 3.3 feet of water for half an hour and the usual steep drops. It's beyond this that the resistance levels become truly exotic: the cards are also built to survive zaps of electricity, proximity to magnets and exposure to X-rays. If it all becomes too much to bear, the design will even fuse on the inside to prevent fire burning the card from within. Those who like what they see will only have to decide whether or not they want the SDAB range's 95MB/s read speeds and 80MB/s writes or are willing to settle for the SDUB line's respective 90MB/s and 45MB/s transfers. We have yet to see if or when the SD cards cross the Pacific after their September 8th launch in Japan, although we hope so -- with that kind of extra-tough design, our photos are more likely to endure than we will.
ADATA lets the sun shine on its new range of Premier Pro microSD cards (update)
ADATA's trio of new Premier Pro microSD cards have escaped from the company's headquarters. Aimed at professionals and demanding consumers, the 16GB and 32GB editions come with a 45MB/s read and 40MB/s write speeds and support the latest SD 3.0 standard. The company isn't mentioning how well the 8GB card runs, so we'll just presume it's a little less speedy than either of its larger brothers. We've reached out to the company to find out when we can expect to see these hitting shelves (and how much they'll cost) and we will update if they tell us. Update: The company let us know that 8GB costs $18, 16GB costs $32 and the 64GB will set you back $62 when they arrive later in the summer.
Toshiba FlashAir WiFi SD Card will make your Eye-Fi's water
Eye-Fi's wireless cards push photos straight from digital cameras without cables, but what if you want to pull some pics back the other way? Toshiba's solving that problem with the two-way FlashAir, an 802.11 b/g/n enabled 8GB SD Card that can also exchange data directly with compatible devices. If pushing photos to a camera isn't your bag you can always always use FlashAir as a mountable wireless drive in your SD-enabled tablet. Sales won't begin in Japan until February 2012 and the price is rumored to be around $90 -- close to that of the equivalent Eye-Fi.
Eye-Fi Direct Mode is here, turns tablets and smartphones into must-have camera accessories
Eye-Fi promised that its Direct Mode for beaming photos straight from your camera to your smartphone or tablet would land this week, and we're pleased to announce the company has kept its word. Just pop your X2 card into a computer, launch the Eye-Fi Center, and you should be prompted to install the new firmware -- version 4.5022. All you have to do then is install the Eye-Fi app on your Android or iOS device, pair it with your camera (you did remember to put the card back in your camera, right?), and you're ready to rock and/or roll. From then on, any pics you snap with your Eye-Fi-equipped cam will automatically beam themselves to your handheld, and sharing on Picasa or Eye-Fi View is just a tap or two away. If you need a bit of a refresher on what Direct Mode looks like in action, just check out our hands-on from CES.
Windows Phone 7-certified microSD cards emerge at AT&T stores: $32 for 8GB
Well, well -- what have we here? For avid users of Windows Phone 7, you no doubt remember the hubbub last year surrounding the so-called difficulties with Microsoft's latest and greatest mobile OS accepting microSD cards. We'd been pounded with news of "WP7 certified microSD cards," but even now, they're more ghost than reality. That said, it looks as if the tables are turning, with an nondescript AT&T store grabbing fresh stock of "certified" 8GB Class 4 microSDHC cards. Based on the packaging, it's fairly clear that Microsoft's taking the lead here, but SanDisk has been knighted to provide the hardware. $32 will soon get you a card that doesn't destroy itself upon insertion in your Samsung Focus, and we're guessing that they'll be available to purchase sooner rather than later. So, you sizing up, or what? [Thanks, Anonymous] %Gallery-121382%
Delkin Elite 633 claims to be the fastest SDHC card with 80MBps write speeds
We can't say we're pleased that camera makers still haven't called an armistice in their megapixel war, but a race for the speediest memory card is one battle we can get behind. Delkin says its 32GB Elite 633 SDHC is the fastest in the world, with 80MBps and 95MBps write and read speeds, respectively, handily trumping Sony's new Memory Sticks that so recently impressed us. This card's ideal for people who shoot gobs of 1080p video, 3D movies, and high-resolution shots coupled with RAW files, but with a price of $440, it's only worth it for pros. And debutants.
Nikon Coolpix S9100 extends an 18x zoom from a compact body capable of 1080p video
Last we heard from Nikon on the topic of high-end point-and-shoot cameras, it was touting Full HD video and a backside-illuminated 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor on its S8100. Well, here comes the S9100, still possessing those goodies, but now it's attaching them to a lens capable of 18x optical zoom -- a feature you'd usually expect to find on shooters far bulkier than this pocket-friendly portable. ISO sensitivity can stretch up to 3200 (only 800 in automatic mode), there's a 1050mAh battery helping power the 3-inch, 920k-dot rear-mounted display, and you'll also probably want to know that the 1080p movie mode records sound in stereo and ticks along at a healthy 30fps. Our brief time with the S9100 revealed it to be a typically well built little shooter, although we did notice zooming it backwards and forwards is a fairly slow affair -- which can grow into something of a nuisance when you've got such a massive zoom range -- while the tripod mount is way off to the left of center. We're sure Nikon has thought that decision through and balanced the camera's weight appropriately, however. Sales around the world begin on March 17th, with local pricing set at $330, €348 and £300 in the major markets. %Gallery-115974% %Gallery-115973%
SanDisk SDHC UHS-I cards are so Extreme they went Pro
Let's get this out of the way right up front: Sandisk's new UHS-I SDHC cards are fast but not that fast. So for all the talk of "extreme" and "pro" just remember that the claimed 45MB/s read and write performance pales in comparison to Toshiba's own UHS-I cards announced back in September with staggering 95MB/s read and 80MB/s write speeds. Still, they're fast enough to capture HD video from the latest DSLRs and certainly faster than anything touting a Class 10 SDXC rating. Now for the best part, gadget masochists, they'll range in 8GB to 32GB capacities with retail pricing set somewhere between $109.99 to $349.99. Just be sure your camera supports UHS-I before making the plunge, ok?
Kingston launches USB 3.0 roadmap, SDHC UHS-I UltimateXX card
The SD Association took the opportunity to introduce the UHS-II standard here at CES, but Kingston's doing its best to just make the most of the protocols that are available in the here and now. The outfit has just introduced its latest range of SDHC cards, the USH-I UltimateXX, which is set to ship later this month and be perfectly backwards compatible with Class 4, 6 and 10 equipment. We're told that it'll hit read rates of 60MB/sec and write rates of 35MB/sec, with pricing set for $69.99 (8GB), $179.99 (16GB) and $349.99 (32GB). In related news, the outfit's also launching its DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 USB flash drive, and it has plans to launch an entry-level flash drive in "late Q2 / early Q3." Head on past the break for the full skinny.
NEC gets official with dual-screen 7-inch LT-W Cloud Communicator
Is it an e-reader? A two-faced tablet? Something else entirely. Hard to say for sure, but just as it promised, NEC has furnished a boatload of details surrounding its heretofore mysterious LT-W Cloud Communicator. This dual-screen Android 2.1 device shares a pair of 7-inch resistive touchpanels, both of which have a non-glare (huzzah!) panel and an SVGA (800 x 600) resolution. Under the hood, we're looking at an ARM Cortex A8 processor, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a three megapixel camera, optional 3G, SDHC card slot, a single USB 2.0 connector, an ear-ratting monaural speaker and a bundled stylus pen. There's also an internal accelerometer, GPS sensor and a battery that's good for up to five hours in ideal conditions. It seems as if NEC is aiming this at folks looking for a more sophisticated e-reading device rather than those looking for a quirky alternative to the cadre of slates already on the market, but there's no word yet on a US price and release date. Needless to say, we'll be digging for both here on the show floor. One more look is after the break.
SD Association triples SDHC and SDXC speeds with UHS-II standard, adds secure eBook specification
Don't ever knock the SD Association for lagging behind. A scant seven months after the aforesaid entity revealed the UHS-I specifications, in flies the predicted successor at CES. UHS-II is a newfangled bus-interface system that promises high-def recording speeds of up to 312 megabytes per second, enabling pro shooters and videographers to actually consider an SDHC or SDXC-based camera rather than relying solely on CompactFlash or SSD. The protocol will be an integral part of the SD 4.00 specification that's going out to members later in the quarter, and naturally, it'll only be useful to SDXC and SDHC cards. We're looking at a 3x increase in transfer rates, and these same upticks will be gracing UHS-II microSDXC and microSDHC cards, too. Best of all, UHS-II cards will be fully backwards compatible with older devices and readers, as the speed increase simply relies on a new row of pins on a familiar form factor. In related news, a new eBook SD application has been announced, though the details surrounding it are murky at best. So far as we can tell, eBook SD cards will have their content pretty well contained, giving publishers the ability to rest easy while still getting content out to the myriad products that can understand SD. Peek the full release after the break. %Gallery-112383%
Lexar unveils 32GB Class 10 microSDHC card, quick-fingered Android users celebrate
Lexar. It's Where Memory Matters. And it's also the only game in town to introduce a Class 10 microSDHC card. For those currently using an Android phone with a user-accessible microSD slot, you've probably gritted your teeth on a number of occasions waiting for your current Class 2 or Class 4 card to catch up with your demands. It's one of the downfalls to removable storage, but thankfully, the device you see above looks to us like a glistening solution. The 32GB Class 10 microSDHC card promises a minimum sustained write speed of 10MB per second and a read speed of nearly 20MB per second, which should all but eliminate any lag from loading up your favorite playlist. Lexar plans on shipping this guy with preloaded software to manage and sync stored images and videos, and speaking of shipping, it should be available right now on Amazon for $149.99.
Aluratek's new wireless speakers go Bump in the night
Speakers? Oh yeah. Wires? Heck no. Aluratek has launched three new wireless audio products collectively called Bump -- though somehow a wired model got lumped in there too. A bit of a step from the company's previous digi frame and e-reader offerings, the four tune-pumping solutions start with the $49.99 AMS01F, a wee boombox that plays music from SD, line-in, or FM and does six hours on a charge. The $79.99 AUWS01F ditches the media player functionality, relying on a signal sent from a 2.4GHz USB dongle that you stick in your nearest PC or Mac (within 60 feet) that has some tunes on it. Next is the $99.99 AWS01F, basically the AMS01F boombox with the addition of a separate wireless speaker. Finally, if you're not ready to cut the cord, there's the $19.99 APS01F, a single little tweeter with a 3.5mm cable sprouting from below. They're all available now, so you know what to do. Update: Seems these are a rebadge. Welp, at least you've got another option.
Sony announces suite of SD cards for cameras that don't work with Sticks
Sony has announced three (count 'em) new series of SD cards, giving amateurs, pros, and prosumers alike even more choices on where to stick their pics. First up is the budget Essential Series in 2, 4, and 8GB capacities, offering Class 4 (4MB/s) speeds and little else. Next up is the similarly Class 4 Experience Series, which adds 16 and 32GB models to the list. Finally is the full-bore, Class 10 Expert Series in 8, 16, and 32GB capacities. This is obviously your choice for high bitrate HD recording (hello PMW-F3), but any should do just fine for taking pictures. All come with a handy "memo space" for those with petite handwriting and ultra-fine point pens, and all ship in January, but, alas, none have been assigned MSRPs just yet. Now, who said Sony doesn't like industry-standard formats?
Kingston introduces Class 4 32GB microSDHC card, charges dearly for the speed
Well, at least you've got options now. Just days after SanDisk's once-rare 32GB microSDHC card fell to $87, along comes Kingston with a nearly identical unit of its own. The difference? It's Class 4 instead of Class 2, which means that you can look forward to a 4MB/s minimum data transfer rate. Of course, you'll be paying dearly for the speed boost when it starts shipping on Monday with the card alone priced at $153. Slow and cheap, or pricey and snappy? Decisions, decisions...
