SanDisk has introduced the Cruzer, which is described as the world’s first portable, pocket-size storage device with removable and upgradeable flash memory cards.
Three inches long, one and three-fourth inches wide, and three-quarters of an inch thick, it can be slipped into a pocket or purse. The Cruzer will accommodate both SD cards and MultiMediaCards, two compact size storage cards.
Wes Brewer, SanDisk’s director of business development, said that Cruzer fills a void in the portable storage market that neither floppy disks nor memory cards can address. Floppy disks can’t be used in many electronic products because they’re too large and lack adequate capacity, he said. With memory cards, there are several different incompatible card formats and this prevents many of the cards from being used in various electronic systems, he added.
“Cruzer helps to bridge those problems because it plugs into the industry-standard USB port that is built into desktop computers, portable notebook computers and numerous other products, while its removable storage medium can also easily link the personal computer to a broad array of consumer electronics devices such as digital cameras, music players and PDAs that have an SD or MultiMediaCard slot,” Brewer said.
Cruzers initially will be available in four capacities: 32 MB, 64 MB, 128 MB, and 256 MB. They sport Mass Storage Class (MSC) compliance, which allows for plug and play operation with Mac OS 9.X and Mac OS X. They’re expected to sell, depending on capacity, at prices ranging from US$59.95 to $199.95.