Oh! Gizmo

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 ]