Oh! Gizmo

By Luke Anderson

I like to think that I’m pretty good when it comes to securing my data, though I certainly don’t go to the extremes that some others go. For instance, my laptop is locked down tight, however, I don’t bother to encrypt my SD cards or password protect them. These sorts of things rarely ever have any sensitive data, so I don’t really care. For those that do store top-secret files on your SD card, here’s something that might interest you.

The USB Memory Card Unlocker is a device that you hope that you’ll never need to use. What it does has a good side and a bad side. The good side is that if you forget the password to your SD card, you’ll be able to use it again after popping it into this little device. The bad news is that you’ll lose all of the data contained on the card. It’ll only set you back $16, which is about the same as a new SD card.

[ USBFever ] VIA [ RedFerret ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re still reliant on compact flash cards because of that DSLR you have no intentions of replacing, your options for a compact memory card reader are limited. But if you’ve managed to break free of the shackles of compact flash, the mini card reader world is your oyster. The Mini Cube is definitely one of the smallest readers I’ve ever seen, and it’s able to remain so tiny because the largest memory card format it accepts is SD. It also supports M2, T-Flash, MicroSD, MiniSD, MMC, MS, MS Duo, MS Pro and MS Pro Duo cards. On its longest side the reader is just 1.4 inches long, but it manages to include a built-in USB cable that tucks into the body when not in use.

You can get it from Gadget4all for just $12.

[ Mini Cube Multi-in-one Card Reader ] VIA [ Pocket-lint ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you’re copying a few hundred JPEG photos you took at a birthday party to your PC, then speed is probably not a big concern. However if you’re copying hundreds of RAW files to your laptop with a looming print deadline then yeah, speed is probably an issue. Lexar’s UDMA dual-slot USB reader promises the fastest transfer speeds you can find as long as you’re using it with a high-speed UDMA memory card.

The dual slots are compatible with UDMA CF cards, standard CF cards, SDHC SD cards and regular SD cards and it even folds closed to keep out unwanted materials like dust and debris when it’s not in use. You can get it directly from the Lexar online store for $34.99.

[ Lexar Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB Reader ] VIA [ Fareastgizmos ]

By Luke Anderson

I love my latest digital camera because it takes CompactFlash memory, rather than SD. While that unfortunately meant that I was left with several useless SD cards, I was more than happy to shell out the extra cash for a much faster format. While CompactFlash is already the fastest flash memory that you can put inside of a camera, the standard is getting revamped to provide even more speed.

The new standard being developed by the CompactFlash Association, dubbed CFast utilizes a SATA interface which promises theoretical transfer speeds of up to 375MB/sec. I’m sure that in reality speeds will be much slower, but even half of that would be a tremendous boost. There are a couple of downsides to this new memory. The first being the fact that it is still 18 months to 2 years away from being finalized. The other (and more important I think) is that the cards won’t be compatible with current cameras. You’ll need to start saving now if you want to take advantage of this faster format.

VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By Luke Anderson

Have you ever tried to load some new music on your phone directly onto a microSD card? That’s the easiest way to do it in my opinion, as you bypass all of that annoying software that gets installed on your PC. Unfortunately this does involve you digging out you microSD to SD card adapter, then hooking it into your card reader. Now thanks to Kingston, you only need to pull out this flash drive and pop in the microSD card.

This flash drive acts just like any other, storing between 1 and 4GB of data. You also have the option of inserting your microSD card and transferring data on and off of it without digging around for an adapter. Prices on the Data Traveler Micro start at around $19.

[ Kingston ] VIA [ Crave ]

By Luke Anderson

I finally upgraded my digital camera to a DSLR, so naturally I had to pick up new memory for it. Since my old camera is all but retired, I have a couple of decent-sized SD cards that are just sitting around not being used. I’d like to think I could utilize their storage capacities in a new camcorder, but they’re not that big, or fast. Now if I had one of these new Panasonic 32GB SDHC cards, it would be a whole different story.

The huge card won’t go on sale until April, but it is well worth the wait. The card is labeled a class 6, which has transfer rates of 20MB per second making it the fastest card at this capacity. Unfortunately you’re going to have to pay a hefty premium for that speed, as the card will set you back around $700 when it debuts.

VIA [ CNET ]

By Andrew Liszewski

It’s unfortunate that my DSLR relies on compact flash memory cards because it means I still have to carry a relatively large USB card reader whenever I travel. And I say ‘relatively large’ because while it easily fits in my pocket, I would still prefer a much smaller SD-only reader like this one.

Hong-Kong based Earth Tek produces this particular USB card reader which quite literally comes with a twist, since it’s able to swivel at the point where the reader connects to your USB port. That allows you to easily access slots on both sides of the reader without having to reach that extra inch. And besides SD cards, the reader also has slots for MS and MicroSD cards and even includes a small power jack allowing you to also charge a phone or PDA while it’s plugged into your computer.

[ Akihabara News - Rotary USB Card Reader ]

By Luke Anderson

If you’ve ever wanted to use a flash memory card to run your PC’s operating system, you’re not alone. Flash memory has proven itself to be fast, quiet and less susceptible to damage due to shock and vibration. The easiest way I have found to do this with an SD/MMC card would be to use this IDE to SD/MMC adapter.

This adapter is awesome because the BIOS actually detects your card as a regular IDE drive. Just hook it up and you’re ready to install your favorite OS. The adapter is cheap, as you’ll only pay around $25.

[ GizFever ] VIA [ RedFerret ]

By Luke Anderson

Many newer phones take advantage of the small size and large capacity of microSD and microSDHC cards. Since they are so cheap, you don’t generally use up all of the storage space with your cool ringtones and random pictures from your camera phone. If you’d like to take advantage of all of the extra space on your card, you might consider one of these tiny USB keys.

The keys are about as small as they can possibly be. They weigh only 0.82 grams and measure 28×15x2.5mm. Personally, I have a 2GB card that I got on sale, and I barely use a quarter of the space. I’d love to be able to plug it into one of these whenever I needed to copy over a few files. There’s no word on pricing or availability, but I wouldn’t imagine that these would cost more than a few dollars.

VIA [ Akihabaranews ]

By Shane McGlaun

Today SanDisk announced the availability of its new 8GB microSDHC card worldwide. The 8GB M2 card is also available today worldwide. SanDisk says that the 8GB cards can store up to 2000 songs, around 5000 photos, or up to 5-hours of high-quality MPEG4 video. To launch the new cards SanDisk is having an exclusive event tonight on the Sun Set Strip in Los Angeles, California that will use three of the most famous nightclubs in California at the same time.

The clubs include the Key Club, The Roxy Theater, and the Viper Room. Performances from Linkin Park, Common, The Crystal Method, Cut Chemist and Z-Trip will be seen. Invited guests will capture the party on their mobile phones, no doubt using the 8GB memory cards. The 8GB microSDHC card will sell for $139.99 and the 8GB M2 card will retail for $149.99.

VIA [ SanDisk ]