Digital Foci Inc. on Friday introduced the Media Buddy, a portable storage system designed for digital photographers on the go. The system comes equipped with hard disk storage space and a flash memory card reader, at prices starting at US$229.95.
The Media Buddy features internal hard disk based storage ranging from 30 to 80GB, and a multi-format memory card reader that supports Compact Flash, Smartmedia, xD-Picture, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital and various Memory Stick formats. The memory card reader can be used to help you free up space when you’re out and about, taking pictures with your digital camera.
You can insert your camera’s memory card into the Media Buddy and download images to the built-in hard drive using the Auto Copy button, without needing to use a computer; a backlit text-only LCD shows you the device’s operational status. (Digital Foci sells a more expensive product called the Picture Porter which has a color LCD panel).
The Media Buddy connects to a Mac or PC using USB 2.0, and when it’s hooked up to a host computer, it operates just like a regular hard drive. You can also copy MP3 files to it and use it as a portable audio player.