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| SanDisk Adds 'U3 Smart' USB Flash Drives to Its Cruzer Line SanDisk Corporation announced a significant enhancement to its line of award-winning Cruzer Micro and Cruzer Titanium USB flash drives. The two models feature a sleek new design and include software that turns them into 'U3 smart drives' so users can access their "personal workspace" - software programs, personal preferences, personal files and data as well as the means for managing them within a highly secure environment - on any personal computer running Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000. The new Cruzer models were unveiled at a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show where SanDisk is demonstrating products in Booth #30329, South Hall, Level 3, Las Vegas Convention Center. The Cruzer Micro will be available in capacities that range from 512-megabytes to 4-gigabytes, while capacities for the Cruzer Titanium will be 1GB and 2GB. The new Cruzers are small, 1.875 x 0.75 inches (4.76 cm x 1.91 cm) and easily fit on a keychain. Each features a retractable USB port for protection from dust and damage. The Cruzer Micro easily slips into a pocket or purse or can be worn around the neck with the included lanyard. With capacities of up to 4GB, it can hold the equivalent up to five data CDs - the equivalent of approximately 2, 800 floppy disks, or hours of digital music, video or other personal data. The Cruzer Titanium combines high performance with extreme ruggedness and durability. It has read and write speeds of 15MB/second - among the fastest available - for speedy data transfers of large files. To physically protect the valuable data of business and power users, its high-strength case is mechanically crush-proof to more than 2000 pounds. It is manufactured with an advanced titanium alloy from Liquidmetal Technologies that is pound-for-pound stronger than steel. The light weight, superior strength, hardness, high corrosion and wear resistance of this unique alloy make it ideal for the Cruzer Titanium. U3 Technology. U3 is a powerful new platform that offers a private, securely protected experience on any PC with Microsoft Windows XP or 2000. These smart drives will be able to launch a variety of U3-compatible (called "U3 Smart") software programs, including anti-virus, security, synchronization, communications, audio, video, gaming and photo-editing, to name a few. The catalog of U3-compatible software is growing quickly. The new Cruzer products are preloaded with four free U3-smart programs: - SKYPE for Voice over IP (VoIP) capabilities (Cruzer customers will receive 30 free SkypeOut minutes for free PC to landline calls worldwide to any phone at any time) - Avast! Antivirus software - SignUp Shield password vault - CruzerSync, which synchronizes with Outlook data. Rather than installing Skype on each computer to make phone calls, a consumer merely plugs the Cruzer Micro U3 drive into the USB port of a Web-connected PC and clicks on Skype from a program menu in the U3 Launchpad. It takes just moments for first-time users to set up a Skype caller name and password. Then, using a headset that connects to another USB port or to the computer's microphone and earphone sockets, a consumer can make free calls to any other Skype user's PC on the planet. With SkypeOut, calls to landlines and mobile phones also can be made for a fraction of the normal costs. The Cruzer Micro and Titanium are "plug-and-play" with PCs and the Macintosh due to USB Mass Storage Class compliance when used with Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Mac OS 10.1.2+ and Mac OS 9.2.1+. SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Computing News :: home page |