The manufacturer says . . .

ChipCenter's Jon Gabay says . . .

MERIDIAN, Idaho--March 4, 2003--Crucial Technology, a division of Micron and one of the world's largest direct memory-upgrade providers, introduced a new line of stationary and portable flash-memory card readers to complement its existing CompactFlash™ and MultiMediaCard™ flash-memory line. Crucial's new USB 1.1-compliant readers make it easy to transfer digital data from flash-memory cards directly to a desktop computer or notebook. "Crucial's card readers are the ideal way to shuttle data from your digital camera, digital music player, handheld computer, or other electronic device directly to your PC," said Crucial Technology Product Marketing Manager Scott Heimgartner. "Many of our customers use multiple electronic devices and multiple flash-memory-card formats in their home or professional life. Crucial's card readers host either single or multiple flash-storage-card formats, addressing the needs of the mobile professional and desktop user alike." Crucial now offers the following card readers. Crucial® USB 6-in-1 Card Reader Four slots, compatible with six memory cards—MultiMediaCard, CompactFlash, SmartMedia™, Secure Digital™, Memory Stick™, and MicroDrive™ Sturdy design and stop pads to prevent sliding during operation USB 1.1-compliant for faster transfer rates Drag-and-drop data transfer between memory cards Currently priced at US$49.99 Crucial USB Portable 6-in-1 Card Reader Four slots, compatible with six memory cards—MultiMediaCard, CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, and MicroDrive Lightweight and compact for easy mobility USB 1.1-compliant for faster transfer rates Hideaway USB extension cable for quick and easy access to desktop or notebook Drag-and-drop data transfer between memory cards Currently priced at US$39.99 Crucial USB Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard Reader Compatible with Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard memory cards Lightweight and compact for easy transportation USB 1.1-compliant for faster transfer rates Currently priced at US$29.99 Crucial USB CompactFlash Reader Compatible with CompactFlash memory cards Lightweight and compact for easy mobility USB 1.1-compliant for faster transfer rates Currently priced at US$19.99 Crucial card readers offer a plug-and-play solution for today's latest operating systems. The reader appears as a removable drive once it is plugged in to the USB port, eliminating the need to restart your system. The readers also come with installation software and a USB cable to accommodate a wide range of systems. Bus-powered, the Crucial card readers require no external power source. All Crucial readers are available on Crucial's Web site, and come with a limited lifetime warranty, free second-day shipping within the contiguous U.S. on qualified orders, and Crucial's renowned customer service and technical support. About Crucial Crucial Technology is a division of Micron Semiconductor Products, Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc. Crucial sells high-quality RAM upgrades, flash-memory cards, and video cards on its Web site. Crucial offers over 95,000 upgrades for more than 19,000 desktops, notebooks, servers, routers, printers, and electronic devices. Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions used in today's leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, and communications products. Micron Technology, Inc., and its subsidiaries manufacture and market DRAMs, very fast SRAMs, flash memory, TCAMs, CMOS image sensors, other semiconductor components and memory modules. Micron's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit its Web site. Micron, Crucial and Crucial Technology are registered trademarks of Micron Technology, Inc. Micron Technology, Inc., is an authorized licensee of the CompactFlash™ and MultiMediaCard™ trademarks. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

So Many Formats, One Reader These days, the average gizmologist has more than one device that takes advantage of modern flash cards. Advanced cell phones, PDAs, digital cameras, MP3 players, and even laptops can take advantage of the fast, small, lightweight, hot-swappable, and ever denser nonvolatile storage offered by this technology. While still more expensive than a simple floppy, the flash cards are faster, denser, more reliable, and not susceptible to magnetic fields. It's interesting to note that the new Dell computers will no longer be shipped with floppy drives. The new media is here to stay. But unlike the floppy standard, one size does not fit all. The various types like MultiMediaCard, CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, and MicroDrive mean the odds are that you will have devices that accept and use more than one type of flash card. For a self-contained unit that never plays with any other equipment, this is not an issue, but this is never the case. I can't think of a single case where the contents stored on this media will not be transferred to a PC, laptop, or other computer platform. This can mean that an octopus of interfaced readers is needed to accommodate the different mix of media formats you will specifically be using. This is no longer the case thanks to a new family of multiformat readers from Crucial Technologies. Crucial has introduced a family of USB (1.1) readers that are both fixed and portable. The best part is that these relatively low-cost readers accept all the standard formats in a single unit. For example, the four slots in the stationary USB 6-in-1 Card Reader (CTR6ACSU1) and the Portable USB 6-in-1 Card Reader (CTR6ACPU1) support all six major form factors. These are Type I CompactFlash, Type II CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, and IBM Microdrive. What's more, these plug-and-play units are only $49.99 and $39.99 respectively. I like the fact that they extract power from the USB port, meaning there is no fussing with batteries or power packs. I also like the transfer rates on all, which are up to 12 Mbits/s. The other two family members are not as all-encompassing, but are cheap. The $19.99 USB CompactFlash Card Reader (CTR3ADPU1) supports only Type I and Type II CompactFlash. The $29.99 USB SD/MMC Card Reader (CTR2MMPU1) supports only SmartMedia and Secure Digital media. For those only needing these formats, you can save a buck or two, but for a little more money, I would go for the all-in-one units and keep the door open for the other formats in the future. According to Crucial, these readers allow transferring data between memory cards, making them writers as well. Although it doesn't specifically say, I questioned Crucial if the drag-and-drop interface allows users to write data from standard PCs and laptops to the memory cards. According to Crucial, it does. This allows flash cards to be used to store and transfer all types of files. I like the wide array of Microsoft operating systems supported, but I did notice that Linux was not mentioned. According to Crucial, it has been tested with Linux, but is not guaranteed. It is supported by Macintosh® OS 8.6 or later. I was also curious if Crucial planned on making nonenclosed versions available for OEM applications. According to Crucial, they are not.

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