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.

Super Talent is pushing out a new line of Compact Flash cards, then CFast series.  The CFast has a maximum bandwidth of 375MBs which is nearly four times faster than a traditional high end CF card at 90MBs.

The new CFast storage card breaks the speed bottleneck between the SSD and the device by using a SATA interface. Super Talent has clocked these CFast cards at up to 200MB/sec read speeds. With a Super Talent CFast storage card installed, there will be no waiting time for the camera to catch up, and it will be much swifter to view pictures on a camera or to copy them to computer.

Measuring 36.4 x 42.8 x 3.3mm for Type I CFast storage cards and 36.4 x 42.8 x 5.0mm for Type II, the same physical dimensions as the CompactFlash card, the CFast Storage Card has a single-chip controller and flash memory module. The SATA interface consists of a 7-pin signal connector and a 17-pin power and control connector. The card operates at 3.3V.

Super Talent is offering five different CFast storage cards, 8GB and 16GB based on SLC (Single Level Cell) flash and 8GB, 16GB and 32GB based on MLC (Multi Level Cell) flash. The first generation of CFast storage cards supports transfer speeds up to 200MB/s.

Source: SuperTalent.

Yes, you read the title correct.  We now have a dual processor on Compact Flash cards.  The new SanDisk Extreme Pro clicks along at an impressive 90MB/s transfer rate.

Just what the doctor ordered for the professional photographer and photo analysis equipment applications.

So what does this mean for transfer rates?  Well consider a typical [high performance] CF card runs at 45MB/s write speed.  The new dual processor CF card runs [basically] twice as fast.

Of course the device itself is only half the equation, you still need a host who can accept such fast speeds, such as the Canon EOS 7D or Nikon D300s dSLRs to name a few.

For those who have the camera already, you might need the SanDisk Extreme Pro ExpressCard Adapter which plugs into the ExpressCard slot on laptops. Compared with typical card readers which offer up to 20MB/s transfer rates, the SanDisk adapter allows up to 90MB/s read and write speeds.

The Extreme Compact Flash series is targeted at enthusiasts and available in 8GB (S$139 (US$99.43)), 16GB (S$269 (US$192.43)) and 32GB (S$399 (US$285.43)) capacities.

For professional photographers who need fast, high-capacity media, the Extreme Pro comes in 16GB (S$413 (US$295.44)), 32GB (S$741 (US$530.08)) and 64GB (S$1,382 (US$988.63)) versions. The new cards are in retail stores now.

For those who know, the Samsung branded NAND flash memory is considered the Tier 1 quality that everyone talks about.  It’s the best stuff out there…highest quality, best in performance, yet always a touch above others [Micron, Hynix, etc] in price.

Well that might change because Samsung is entering the retail market with their solid state flash of Secure Digital, Compact Flash and microSD media.

Samsung will release sizes from 4GB to 16GB capacity before the end of 2009.  These cards will be in the ‘Plus’ memory card class and compliant with the Secure Digital class 6 performance standards.  Cards boust a speed range of 17Mbps to 45Mbps.

RiDATA introduces the ultra fast speed Compact Flash memory card at 300X normal data transfer speeds.  The Supreme Compact Flash card is a 16GB haven for data storage.  President Harvey Liu claims the CF card was designed for photographers needing high performance flash memory for those ultra large digital files the pros are taking, but he might be missing one critical target market - embedded designs.

As solid state memory is becoming cheaper and performs better, many embedded products are going the route of Compact Flash.  These embedded designs and products need large capacity and high performance.

For example, did you know that most slot machines use either CF or SD solid state media to run the graphics you see when sitting at the slots?  The display screen with graphics and information which come from your registration card are powered from a solid state drive.  This is just one example of how embedded products are going more towards Flash Memory for data storage and processing.

RiDATA Supreme Compact Flash card is available through the retail channel with a 2 year warranty.  Pricing is “competitive” but no price point was given in the press release or the RiDATA website. (more…)

C-Data Solutions has a mini computer the size of a Compact Flash card.  Yes, that’s right.  The form factor of this Linux computer is that of a Compact Flash card.  The solution uses a CF DAQ card as the main processor and you can expand for additional flexibility using the CF COMM cards.

The Compact Flash Computer utilizes Motorola’s Coldfire MFC5272 processor. The on-board flash memory file system provides storage for the operating system (ucLinux) and user applications. Expansion is via a 16 bit bus compatible with Compact Flash devices. Up to eight devices can be integrate into a system using the Bus Extension Unit (CF type II device).

Here are the impressive specifications to the CF Linux computer:

• 43 x 37 x 5 mm
• Compact Flash Type II Card
• 16 Bit CF expansion bus Interfaces to CF cards
• 32 bit Coldfire cpu
• 32 MB SRAM
• 8 MB FLASH
• µcLinux
• RS-232
• Motorola BDM port

For more information visit the C-Data Solutions website.  Source via Hacker-Technology.

DRAMeXchange published a market research paper stating that NAND flash memory will continue to flood the market at lower prices. NAND flash memory is primarily used for storing songs, photos and other data on gadget type devices like digital cameras, MP3 players and iPods. The biggest contributing factor on why the market will continue to see cheap NAND is lack of sales.

Since production forecasts run months ahead, the market has sitting inventory. To move this inventory prices are continueing to drop. For example, DRAMeXchange reported a drop of 20% in June for NAND memory related devices.

The NAND flash market has been so bad that the creator of the chips, SanDisk, on Monday reported a surprise loss of US$68 million for the second quarter. The company blamed the supply glut for its problems, pointing out that it sold a record amount of flash, 120 percent more than the same time last year, but that prices are down 55 percent compared to then.

SanDisk also reported the flash memory pricing might get worse [better for us] in the third quarter. So, it might be a good idea to start picking out your Christmas items now and make sure it’s some type of flash gadget.

On the flip side, with today’s surplus means these companies are cutting back production as well, so once this flood dries up, we could see a shortage for NAND and prices jumping up…and the cycle goes on.

Source: Network World.

Not that a single rack mount unit which can record to CD or CF card is all that ground breaking, the conveninece of taking a live event and dumping to CF instantly is an interesting prospect.  Once more, the TASCAM SS-CDR1 will convert CDDA audio from Compact Disc to Compact Flash.

The SS-CDR1 is designed for applications which previously used cassette or MiniDisc recording to transition those digital recordings the CD or Compact Flash cards.  The SS-CDR1 records in WAVE or MP3 formats to Compact Flash media. A slot-loading CD transport is provided CD recording, MP3 conversion and audio transfer. The recorder includes balanced and unbalanced audio inputs and outputs, RS-232 and parallel control and a wired remote control.

Price for the SS-CDR1 is set at $599.  WOW - that’s some serious hardware cost for a CF recorder. (more…)

Sans Digital is delivering a dual Compact Flash design that might rival some solid state drives at half the cost and with significant benefits. What Sans Digital has come up with is putting two Compact Flash cards into a 2.5″ enclosure to make it look and feel like a SSD drive. Using two 16GB cards and some RAID configuration the dual flash memory becomes a 32GB hard drive. Although this isn’t the biggest drive size, it does rival entry level SSD storage devices.

So here’s the kicker; putting two high performance Sandisk Extreme III Compact Flash cards together would only cost a user about $360. Compare that cost outlay with a $860 SSD drive [of about the same storage size] and you’ve got yourself a clear winner on what direction to take.

“Unlike existing RAID units that employs hard drives for storage space, the CompactSTOR CS1T utilizes pocket-sized lightweight Compact Flash cards as storage memory for data safekeeping. Designed with the same size and connectors as a 2.5” SATA hard drive, the CS1T is compatible with the hard drive slot of laptops, industrial PCs (IPC), small form factor computers, and 2.5” hard drive enclosures.”

In addition, the Compact Flash configuration has lower power consumption and less noise and heat output. The only issue we see is the performance difference between the two. The entry level SSD storage units average [according to spec] about 90Mbytes/s write whereby the Sans Digital solution is about a 3rd less at 30Mbytes/s write speed.

The Sans Digital product is called the CompactSTOR and retails for about $45 for the dual bay Compact Flash base and enclosure, memory, of course, is sold seperately.