Today Nexcopy announces an all new microSD duplicator product line.  We reported on the Nexcopy SD duplicator from several months ago, but that version used SD adapter cards.

The new microSD duplicator is specifically designed to handle the microSD form factor.  There are no adapter cards required.  This alone will increase production by [Nexcopy estimates] 30% because the user no longer has to insert microSD media into SD adapters, then into the duplicator.

The microSD duplicator comes with Nexcopy’s software suite for File Copy, Bit for Bit copy and full binary Verification functions.

The microSD duplicator is available in three sizes of 20 port, 40 port and 60 port target systems.  The starting price is $,1299 and available now for immediate delivery. (more…)

The Compact Flash Organization [site] released their new 5.0 specification earlier today.  It just blew the cap off the lid of storage limits.  The current specification for Compact Flash is 137GBs…now that is 144 Petabytes, or PBs.

Petabyte is a big number, and most people haven’t heard of it.  Well, to break it down, a petabyte is [around] 150 million Gigabytes.

Look around your house for some Blu-ray discs, that would equal six million blu-ray titles on one Compact Flash card.  I guess that means no more RAID boxes, right?  I mean, what’s better than solid state memory and storage the size of Texas?

We started doing the math on the time it would take a CF Duplicator to copy a 5.0 Compact Flash card, laughed and stopped.  There just isn’t technology out there for bulk data loading to a device like this…let alone finding a ligitimate use of putting that much information on the card anyway.

So we don’t see a practical use for the 5.0 spec yet, but there are other improvements we should get excited about.  The CFA says Revision 5.0 brings an optional quality of service framework that guarantees a certain level of performance and prevents dropping frames, more efficient cleanup of unused space, a new electrical design that better complies with ATA standards.

There’s no mention of when CompactFlash 5.0 cards will ship, but if you are still interested you can read up on the new spec here [PDF], or download the official specification for a C note. (more…)

Nexcopy released a new line of flash memory duplication systems, the CF Duplicator 150PC, 300PC and 450PC.  These PC based systems are ideal for doing bulk data loading to Compact Flash cards.

Nexcopy has some unique features to make any data loading job a breeze.  For example, you can put unique files to each CF card through their Unique Data Copy function.  Or a user can easily copy bootable Compact Flash cards by using the bit for bit Short Image copy function.  The Short Image copy function means only the data clusters used on the CF card will be copied to the target devices…rather than the entire thing.

However, Nexcopy also provides a Full Image copy function if that is required.  I’m thinking this would be good for Ext2 or Ext3 Linux formats where there are potential files that could be in any sector of the CF media.

Nexcopy CF Duplicator line starts out with the CF150PC at $1,200 with an upgrade path to the 30 port and 45 port systems.  So the CF Duplicator is modular in design.

Nexcopy also mentions a user can mix and match duplicator boxes, so you could now copy to SD media, CF media and USB sticks all through one software interface, and at the same time!  Not bad.

You can learn more by visiting the product page: CF Duplicator by Nexcopy. http://www.nexcopy.com/cf-duplicator/

Source: GetUSB.info.

So here is an interesting twist to how a company can introduce a product.  Nexcopy used the common theme of a Movie Trailer to position their new 40 and 60 port USB Duplicators.  The quality of the video is excellent and the short 1 minute video gives you just enough information to peak your interest, yet not bore you to death.

We’ve mentioned Nexcopy before with their flag ship 20 port USB duplicator, then SD Duplicators and USB Copy Protection solutions.

SanDisk is all about SlotMusic these days.  SlotMusic is the concept of pre-loaded microSD cards where your music can be played on MP3 players, mobile phones and PDAs.  Complete interoperability and mobility with SlotMusic.

To soften the blow and increase adoption of the SlotMusic concept, SanDisk is offer a very inexpensive MP3 player at just $19.99.  The SlotMusic player may also be purchased with pre-loaded microSD cards for a total price of $39.99.  This price point gives a significant advantage of the iPod Shuffle as you get device and music for the same price of just the Shuffle hardware.

SanDisk put together a great demo presentation about the SlotMusic concept and I highly recommend checking out the link.

Now that we see music making the shift to pre-loaded mircoSD cards, the concept of a microSD duplicator makes a bit more sense doesn’t it?

With the backing of SanDisk and it being one of the largest flash memory retailers in the world, they have the channel and connections to make SlotMusic a success.  It will be interesting to see what artists jump on the wagon and explore the digital distribution of music via microSD cards.

SlotMusic demo.
SlotMusic player product page.

We’ve heard of a USB port replicator which is a fancy word for dock station, but now we have USB Duplicator from Nexcopy. The USB duplicator is the largest PC based copier on the market which quickly and easily copies data to flash drives. The average user wouldn’t need this, but this product would be a great fit for many corporations today. Since USB flash memory is such a popular medium for data distribution the USB duplicator seems like a good investment that would save an IT guy a bunch of time.

The Nexcopy USB Duplicator has several different functions like file copy, which copies files and folders from a PC onto the flash drive with the same file structure. Another feature is USB device copy. This is a low-level USB duplicator with a bit-for-bit copy function. The USB200PC also comes with a Copy Job function so you can set a string of activity…like Format, Copy, Verify and Volume Name.

It appears the USB duplicator uses Windows .NET frameworks for it’s multi-threading technology. This means your 20 devices will copy a little slower than a 1-to-1 copy, but the end result yields 20 USB drives, not 1. Big time saver by anyone’s standards.

The Nexcopy duplicator has a list price of $1,299 which makes it the most economical solution for the number of targets it provides; 20. (more…)