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SanDisk offers up 4GB Ducati USB flash drive
If you're the type who prefers your vehicles to come with only two wheels, and you also don't mind paying entirely too much for a USB flash drive so long as its branded right, SanDisk's latest could be right up your alley. Amongst a number of Ducati-badged flash memory (shown after the jump), SanDisk has also unveiled the Extreme Ducati Edition USB Flash Drive, which doesn't do much to avoid looking like your average Liquid Paper Dryline Grip. Aside from the awkward resemblance, this glossy red device sports the same color effects as those found on the Ducati Corse team motorcycles, includes 4GB of internal storage, and touts write speeds of up to 20 megabytes-per-second. 'Course, that staggering $124.99 you'll lay down for this piece also includes a "custom lanyard" and SanDisk's RescuePRO Deluxe software, but we imagine the pricetag won't matter much for true aficionados.[Via PCLaunches]
Sansa Express gets the hot pink treatment
It looks like SanDisk has deemed its pink Sansa C250 enough of a success to extend the eye-catching paint job further on down the line, with its well-received Sansa Express now also getting a refresh of its own. Apart from its new attention-grabbing ability, however, the player appears to be otherwise unchanged, with it packing the same four-line OLED display, 1GB of storage, microSD expansion slot, and FM tuner as its less colorful brethren. It also comes in at exactly the same price, setting you back $60.
Engadget at Digital Experience New York
Digital Experience is a bi-annual press event wherein dozens of your favorite tech companies corral hundreds of your favorite tech journalists, fill them up with free food and booze, and attempt to squeeze a little more coverage out of already-announced products. The theme for this year's New York show -- held last night at the Metropolitan Pavilion -- was British Invasion, and while we certainly appreciated the Beatles cover band, darts competitions, and of course the Bass- and Boddingtons-serving HP Notebook Pub (pictured above, although we still prefer the Sun beer server), the choice to offer traditional English cuisine was, quite frankly, not that well thought out. Nonetheless, we braved numerous flying darts and sketchy-looking meat pies to photograph a few devices we thought you'd enjoy; click on to check out the highlights...
SanDisk intros 6, 8GB microSDHC cards, 4GB M2 card
SanDisk has busted out a couple of advances on two memory card fronts today, introducing some 6 and 8GB microSDHC cards, along with a 4GB Memory Stick Micro card (otherwise known as M2). Not one to miss an opportunity to seize the moment, SanDisk's Jeff Kost says that with the new microSDHC cards, "any mobile phone with a compatible microSDHC slot will have just as much storage as the largest-capacity iPhone." Unfortunately, there's no word one what they'll cost just yet, although there's less uncertainty about the 4GB M2 card, which should soon be available for $100.Read - SanDisk 6 and 8GB microSDHC cardsRead - SanDisk 4GB M2 card
SanDisk Cruzer Contour flash drive improves your looks
We've all been there: you're at an important meeting, Henderson asks you to see the Smith report, you reach for your flash drive to get the files and the entire room bursts into laughter because of your cheap looking storage device. Well SanDisk wants to help, and has, with its new Cruzer Contour. The "stylish" drive comes in 4GB or 8GB configurations, sports a trendy blue LED, and uses a sliding cap to protect the USB connector. On data transfer speeds, the company says it's twice as fast as its previous high-end offering, although it seems to have the same performance specs as the last Cruzer Contour model we saw in January. Regardless, thanks to SanDisk, you will never again suffer the humiliating jeers and jokes of your coworkers -- at least when it comes to flash storage.
SanDisk inks licensing agreement to support DivX
Good news for all you video-playing SanDisk owners out there, as the creator of your PMP just inked a licensing agreement to support DivX in the very near future. As a part of the deal, future SanDisk video products will include interoperability with the DivX Stage6 video website, and while it wasn't directly stated that firmware would be pushed out to upgrade existing units, we've got our collective fingers crossed. Unfortunately, SanDisk apparently isn't quite ready to divulge exactly what products (if not all of the video-playing varieties) will indeed be stickered with a DivX-certified logo, but it did say that it would relieve that tension and let us all know "later this year."[Via TGDaily]
SanDisk intros Cruzer Professional, Enterprise USB drives
SanDisk has tossed a few more entries into its ever-expanding line of Cruzer USB flash drives, with its new Cruzer Professional and Cruzer Enterprise models offering a few additional perks for more security-minded folks. Both drives are available in 1, 2, and 4GB versions, and each boast the same 24MB/sec read time and 20MB/sec write time. Opting for the Professional model, however, will only get you some basic security features, including a "Privacy Zone" that'll let you password-protect as much or as little of the drive as you'd like. The Cruzer Enterprise, on the other hand, boasts mandatory password protection for the entire drive, along with a set-up process that forces users to create complex passwords. The Enterprise drive will also work with Sandisk's Cruzer Enterprise Central Management & Control server software, which'll give businesses central back-up and restore capabilities, and even allow for remote termination of lost drives. If that meets with your approval, you can snag the Enterprise drives now for between $75 and $185, or save a few bucks with the Professional drives, which'll set you back between $55 and $155.
SanDisk bumps 1.8- and 2.5-inch SSD to 64GB
While not nearly as capacious as PQI's 256GB behemoth of an SSD, SanDisk is creeping ever closer by bumping its 1.8- and 2.5-inch SSD to 64GB. Previously capped at 32GB, the SATA 5000 and UATA 5000 series are now doubling in capacity and ready to become your next drop-in hard drive replacement. The devices reportedly sport a sustained read rate of around 67Mbps, a random read rate of 7,000 IOPS, and consume about half as much energy as its traditional HDD counterparts. No word just yet on pricing, but SanDisk is reportedly planning to offer up 64GB engineering samples in Q3, while mass production is scheduled to commence by the year's end.
SanDisk puts Sansa View on ice
Just got official word from SanDisk that they're putting the Sansa View on ice, at least for the time being. A rep we spoke with told us that SanDisk has, "decided to re-scope the product, so we'll not be bringing it to market this year." Apparently they're still committed to the portable media player market, but that, "the market is changing fast and furious and we want to shift our efforts to develop a PMP that will meet the needs of the market versus pushing out the wrong product. So we're taking another look." It's disappointing that we won't be seeing their take on a widescreen flash-based portable video player, but we'll give 'em points for at least being upfront about the sitch -- and for realizing that it's better not to release a product at all than to release one that offers a sub-standard experience. Usually when an electronics company kills a product before launch like this they just try and pretend like it never existed in the first place and hope that nobody notices that it never came out.
$5,000 SanDisk cards: Solid Gold but still can't dance
What could be better than sweet, NANDy flash? Precious metal versions of course. We're not talking faux, Thanko gold here folks, these cards are Marilyn McCoo baby, solid gold. The 150g CompactFlash card and 35g SDHC card are up for grabs in a SanDisk Hong Kong contest ending June 22nd. Winners of the CF card will be pocketing about $5,000 which we'd promptly flip for the biggest 2.5-inch, SATA SSD we could find. [Via Everything USB]
SanDisk pulls a 180, applauds Amazon's DRM-free music store
We've seen companies hop the fence on occasion before, but SanDisk is making absolutely sure that we all know that it's seriously changing its tune (ahem) on this one. In a bizarre statement that proudly "applauds Amazon and EMI on the launch of its newfangled unprotected music store," the company goes out of its way to proclaim its "excitement for Amazon's DRM-free music download portal," and moreover, cranks up the contradiction further by stating that the firm is a "consistent advocate of consumer choice that believes this launch is an important step forward." While we try not to read too much into that, there's a pretty stark difference between these adoring comments and the ones just months ago that aimed to "protect content creators and the long-term health of the industry" by utilizing DRM on digital downloads. Regardless, it has become fairly clear that SanDisk probably just goes with the flow and hopes to put blinders on everyone else rather than actually saying what it means, but as of this moment, we're felicitous that SanDisk is seeing the light.[Via Electronista]
Switched On: Music in the air (Part 2)
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: Last week's column examined some of the new capabilities of the Sansa Connect, a portable digital audio player designed for an always-connected world. Unfortunately, we don't live in one. Adding inactivity to injury, this is especially true in locations where many people exercise accompanied to music, airplanes (hey, it's hard to return those seats to their upright positions), the New York City subway system, and the streets of cities other than Mountain View, CA. Indeed, most WiFi-friendly environments are also laptop-friendly and thus support access to not only Yahoo Music and its competitors, but high-quality free internet radio from last.fm, Slacker, and others. To compensate, SanDisk and Zing have one-upped the portable satellite radios that must also deal with blackouts. Rather than simply simply allowing real-time recording of a radio station, the Connect can transfer a song or the song's album to the player if it is available on Yahoo! Music Unlimited. It can even generate an offline playlist on the device -- something similar in spirit to a feature I've long wanted on the iPod and other players, which is to be able to "switch gears" while listening in shuffle mode to play more tracks from just that artist, the rest of the album, or other songs like the one I've heard. And while the Connect's implementation may fall short of the strong computer or community-generated music exploration features offered by Pandora, Goombah, iJiggy, La La, Last.fm, Amazon or others, it makes for an enjoyable self-led path to discovering new music. Skeptics could counter that this is not so functionally different from browsing a subscription music service on your PC and then transferring to your portable player, but music discovery is that odd leisure activity that requires work. Enabling it to occur untethered is a positive step.
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.
Sansa Shaker: unboxed and oh-so-cute
These days we're hardly content with WiFi-capable superDAPs, much less a screenless and awkward SD-based player, but luckily the children of the world aren't so picky when it comes to enjoying their tunes -- though we're sure in a few years nothing less than a 64GB flash player with a 1080p screen and built-in smell-o-vision will suffice. At least that's what Chris from Mobility Site discovered about the new Sansa Shaker, whose four year old son has taken quite the liking to the device. The cutesy sound effects and pre-loaded songs seem like they'll get old right quick, and despite Sansa's best efforts the controls don't seem terribly intuitive, but 512MB of good times for $40 isn't bad at all. Peep the read link for video of the unboxing and the little man's first impressions.
SanDisk Sansa Connect gets dissected
While most of the Sansa Connect coverage has treated the little fellow fairly well up until this point, we knew it was only a matter of time before someone got their hands dirty and cracked it open. Sure enough, the unashamed folks at AnythingButiPod had no qualms peeling back the plastic and taking a look inside, as SanDisk's portable WiFi audio player was carefully returned to a state it once found itself in on the manufacturing line. So for those of you whose eyes light up at the mere sight of PCB, click on through for a few more snaps, and then hit the read link when you're ready for more.
SanDisk's Sansa C250 goes red and pink
Calm down fellas, you haven't let Valentine's Day slip up on you or anything, but SanDisk is looking out for those who like to look way ahead, or for those with in-the-know mums who need a new pocket-sized DAP for Mum's Day. The Sansa C250 digital audio player falls into the bargain-priced C200 series, and while a black iteration has been available for some time now, those who haven't caved and snapped up the highly-regarded Sansa Express can grab a pink or red C250 in 1GB or 2GB flavors. They also sport 1.4-inch color displays for showing album art and JPEG thumbnails, an FM tuner, radio recording abilities, a voice recorder, USB 2.0, a microSD expansion slot, and a removable, rechargeable Li-ion cell that purportedly offers up 15 hours of battery life on a full charge. The 10.4-ounce music machine is currently on sale for a penny under $80 at the store you love to hate, while the less spectacular black version will save you $20.
SanDisk's Sansa Express takes its turn, gets reviewed
It's no secret that the Sansa lineup of music players have fared pretty well in crunch time, and according to a glowing PCMag writeup, the diminutive (and simply titled) 1GB Express is no different. While it's difficult not to draw obvious connections between this pack 'o gum sized DAP and Apple's first-generation Shuffle, the built-in OLED alone gives it a serious edge. Additionally, reviewers raved over the included niceties (you know, the FM tuner, voice recorder, and microSD expansion slot) that aren't usually found on bottom-end players. Both the clean menu navigation and pocket-friendly size were also commended, and while the "crappy earbuds," unsurprising lack of an AC adapter, and "a modest 14 hours of battery life" were looked down upon, that still wasn't enough to stop the crew from handing out a 4.5 out of 5 rating.[Via ChipChick]
SanDisk Sansa Connect review roundup
Ever since MusicGremlin and Microsoft released their respective innovative-but-flawed wireless DAPs, we've been jonesing for someone to get direct-to-device downloading right, and while SanDisk seems to have taken a step in the right direction with its tempting 4GB Connect, early reviews prove that we still have a ways to go before these offerings fully cater to consumer demands. On the plus side, everyone seems to be lovin' the Connect's design, controls, and GUI -- unlike the Sansa e200 series, the scroll wheel and buttons seem to be solidly-built and well-placed -- along with the ability to listen to Internet radio (just Yahoo LAUNCHcast, though) and browse one's entire Flickr collection; also getting pretty high marks were the sound quality, microSD slot, and tinny-but-handy mono speaker. However, not all is well in Sansaland, with the Connect's downloading abilities severely hampered by the limited choices available from Yahoo Music Unlimited to Go (the only service that this will work with sans PC), not to mention the fact that Mac users are once again left out in the cold. SanDisk claims that it may provide firmware updates that allow such things as a critical search function and connections to paid hotspots, but certain downsides -- like the measly 6 hour / 12 hour WiFi on / off battery life and inability to share tracks with friends (only track names, which you could just as easily tell someone) -- will probably only be addressed with new hardware or not at all. Bottom line: if you can deal with a limited selection of tracks, anemic battery life, and no FM radio, the Connect certainly sounds like a winner -- and if you wait a while longer, version two will probably be even better.Read - New York Times ("Half-baked") [Via Wi-Fi Net News]Read - CNET (8 out of 10, Excellent)Read - Laptop (3.5 out of 5 stars)
Sansa Shaker: mystery solved
Just in case the semi-mysterious specifications and launch deets we had last week for SanDisk's Sansa Shaker have been keeping you up nights, here's the skinny. The Shaker, which just went "official," includes the dual headphone jacks, built-in speaker, 512MB of memory and SD card slot we told you about. What we weren't clear about is the "interactive Shake feature," but it turns out it merely skips to the next track, and there's nothing stopping your child from controlling playback with the control band at the bottom of the device -- no need for physical exertion when a twist will do, right? SanDisk plans to launch this puppy in the US for $40 by late April, with the rest of the world to follow later this year.
The 2006 Engadget Awards: Vote for Gadget of the Year
This is it, the moment you've been waiting for. After all these long months you can finally cast your ballot for the 2006 Gadget of the Year! Our Engadget Awards nominees are listed below, and you've got until 11.59PM EST on Wednesday, April 18th to file your vote. You can only vote once, so make it count, and may the best gadget in all of 2006 win! The nominees: Apple MacBook Pro, Dell 3007WFP-HC, HTC Hermes / 8525, Nintendo Wii, SanDisk Sansa E280R, Slingbox PRO, and Sony PlayStation 3. %Poll-368%
