Addonics expands flash reader family!
Two new DigiDrives and a PCMCIA DigiAdapter round out the company's offerings...
By Michael R. Tomkins, The Imaging Resource

(The Imaging Resource ) -- May 21, 2002 -- Addonics Technologies Inc., formerly part of the Acer Group, has announced the release of several new flash-reader products aimed at offering compatibility with a wide range of media types. Of the three announcements, two are USB 1.1 readers compatible with seven media types, and the third is a PCMCIA (PC Card) card adapter compatible with four types.

The PCMCIA adapter is dubbed the '4-in-1 DigiAdapter' (pictured below), and allows Memory Stick, SmartMedia, Secure Digital or MultimediaCard flash to be read in a standard Type-II PCMCIA slot. It requires no drivers to be installed, has read/write speeds of up to 3MB/second, and costs US$59.

Addonics' 4-in-1 DigiAdapter flash adapter

Next up is the 'Mini DigiDrive', a smaller version of the previously announced 'Pocket DigiDrive'. Like that unit, it can read CompactFlash Type-I or Type-II cards (including IBM's MicroDrive), as well as SmartMedia, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard and Secure Digital cards. It also features the same USB 1.1 interface... (Addonics' release notes compliance with USB 2.0, but don't be confused - this is through the backward compatibility of USB 2.0 with USB 1.1, and maximum throughput will be the same as any other USB 1.1 device). Differences are that the Mini DigiDrive is smaller than the Pocket version by 1/4" (W), 2 1/4" (D) and almost 1/2" (H), as well as being some 11 ounces lighter at only 3 ounces. In place of the 4 separate media access LEDs of the previous model, there is now a single power LED, and a single LED showing media access on any of the four slots.

Addonics' Mini DigiDrive flash reader

Finally, the Internal DigiDrive II is an update to the previous model that (other than size and weight) has the exact same updates that the Mini DigiDrive did - removal of the four media access LEDs and replacement with a single power LED and a single access LED. The only other noteable change from the original Internal DigiDrive is that the circuit board is now fully encased in a metal drive housing which should prevent problems with dust and/or accidental shorting of circuits. Size and weight remain identical, as do the compatibility with seven media types mentioned previously and USB 1.1 connectivity. (Note that the Internal DigiDrive II can be connected to either internal or external USB connectors on your PC, as could the previous model).

Addonics' Internal DigiDrive II flash reader

Both the Mini DigiDrive and Internal DigiDrive II cost $49, $20 less than their older counterparts...

Source: Addonics Technologies Inc.

Copyright © 2002 The Imaging Resource