SanDisk today introduced the less-than-snappily entitled SanDisk Ultra(TM) II SD(TM) PLUS, an innovative SD flash memory card with built-in USB connectivity.
The card has a built-in USB connector for instant connectivity – users can flip the card to expose the USB connector and then plug it into any USB port and watch the blinking LED do its thang as the data is transferred.
The neat folding design eliminates the need for an easily-lost cap too.
This dual functionality could prove to be an alluring selling point, as consumers wanting to download images to their computer currently have to invest in external card readers or mess about with a connecting cable.
Travellers will find the twin functionality particularly handy, with the USB connection making it easy to download their holiday snaps onto cyber-café computers and mail them off to jealous chums back home.
The Ultra II SD PLUS is targeted primarily at the professional digital camera and prosumer market where 4 mega-pixel or higher resolution digital cameras are requiring significantly faster flash memory film cards.
It’s quite a nippy card too, offering a respectable write speed of 9-megabytes per second (MB/Sec) and a 10MB/sec read speed.
SanDisk expects the card to initially be available in two capacities with the 512MB card having a suggested retail price of $109.99 (£58, €84) and the 1GB version carrying a suggested price of $149.99 (£79, €115)
Shipping to stores is expected in April. We might even be tempted.