Lexar New USB Card Form Factor amp; FlashCard

Lexar Media today announced a new USB card form factor designed for universaland superior interoperability to bring next generation storage, connectivity andutility products to a broad variety of computing, consumer electronics andmobile electronics devices.

The new USB card form factor is based on the USB Type A connector as outlined inthe Universal Serial Bus Specification. A mere 12 millimeters wide, 4.5millimeters high and 31.75 millimeters long the card is no longer than thediameter of a penny. At half the width and a little more than twice the height,it is volumetrically similar to an SD card. The rugged, sturdy metal housing isintended to make the USB card suitable for use in a range of environments.

Lexar’s USB FlashCard will be the first product based on the new form factor.The USB FlashCard will offer universal plug and play connectivity with allmodern operating systems leveraging the ubiquity of the USB interface. Lexarplans to introduce Full-Speed USB versions in 16MB, 32MB and 64MB capacities aswell as Hi-Speed USB versions in 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB and 1GB capacitieswith a high performance 60MB/s interface speed in 2005.

“Lexar’s USB FlashCard will offer unparalleled ease of use by leveraging thepervasive USB interface”, said Petro Estakhri, Chief Technology Officer, Lexar.“Moving forward, our intent is to leverage the open standard to createtechnology that is feature rich in terms of security, provides an easy interfaceand is built on an environmental design that meets general standards for almostall of today's computing, consumer and mobile electronics devices usingnon-volatile storage."

The USB FlashCard is designed to fit into any industry standard USB Type Asocket. Lexar is working with connector manufacturers to offer an extended USBType A socket to be used in consumer electronics devices and mobile applicationssuch as digital still cameras and handheld computers. The USB FlashCard socketswould accommodate the USB FlashCard inside of a camera similar in use to otherforms of flash memory cards.

“USB flash drives have seen a tremendous success as external flash based storagedevices and are now the preferred medium of choice for a wide range ofprofessional and consumer users for transferring data, “said Steffen Hellmold,General Manager of OEM Products, Lexar. “This new form factor enables the use ofUSB flash drives beyond computing applications, realizing the dream ofconnecting the worlds of computing, consumer and mobile applications through auniversal USB FlashCard.”