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Pretec's 640MB CompactFlash card. Courtesy of Pretec, with modifications by Michael R. Tomkins. Pretec announces highest capacity CF card!
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(Wednesday, June 27, 2001 - 13:40 EDT)

CompactFlash capacity soars to 640MB...

Our friends at LetsGoDigital.nl in Holland spotted an interesting announcement by Pretec Electronics Corp., the US subsidiary of Taiwanese company Premier Image Technology Corp. Pretec has announced the world's largest capacity solid-state CompactFlash card at PC Expo, with a whopping 640MB capacity, double that of the company's previous highest capacity product. The company is promoting its new flash card alongside both Ricoh and Kodak, distributing press releases (below) which tout compatibility with both Kodak's DCS 760 and DCS Pro Back, and Ricoh's RDC-i500 and -i700 digital cameras.

Pretec's press releases on the product don't provide a lot in the way of specifications, but it seems safe to assume the card conforms to CompactFlash Type-II specs, meaning that it is slightly thicker than standard Type-I cards. Likewise, pricing and availability haven't been detailed thus far. It seems that there will be two versions available though, with a more expensive ruggedized version being targetted at industrial and military use. This version has a full metal casing and can be used at temperatures ranging from -40 to 125 degrees centigrade with minimal risk of data loss.

Original Source Press Release:

Kodak Professional and Pretec Team Up to show 640MB CompactFlash Card

The largest capacity CF card in the world works flawlessly with the highest resolution digital cameras in the world

Fremont, California May 29, 2001 – The largest capacity CompactFlash card in the world, 640MB from Pretec Electronics Corp. has been tested and approved by Eastman Kodak Company to be compatible with Kodak Professional DCS760 (3032 x 2008, 6 megapixel) and DCS Pro Back (4080 X 4080; 16 megapixel) digital cameras running current firmware.

Kodak Professional DCS Pro Back is the highest resolution one-shot digital camera in the world with superb image quality and excellent color editing capability. It is ideal for studio but can be used as portable photography as well with sophisticated digital controls. The uncompressed file size can be as large as 48MB for 8 bits per color RGB TIFF to 128MB for 16 bits per color CMYK TIFF. Pretec’s 640MB CF card provides needed capacity for super high-resolution cameras such as Pro Back, yet maintains the excellent reliability due to flash memory devices compared with rotating magnetic media. “We are glad to see that Pretec offers the low power and reliable alternative flash storage solution for Kodak Professional digital camera users,” said Madhav Mehra, Worldwide Product Business Manager, Photographer Capture Products and Systems, Kodak Professional. “The dual CF slots of Pro Back can provide unprecedented 1.2GB ultra-reliable storage using Pretec 640MB CF card.”

Pretec 640MB CF card also offers unparallel speed among all flash memory card solution providers for Kodak Professional digital cameras, preliminary test using DCS 760 shows the average write speed for Pretec 640MB CF card is 1.94MB/sec (with LCD ON) and 2.1MB/sec (with LCD OFF).

Industrial and Military grade 640MB CF card is also available from Pretec. Designed with precision mechanics, and full metal protection, the breakthrough product sustains a wide range ( -40°C - 125°C) working temperature and offers ultimate level of new data protection and security features to prevent user’s image files, software, crucial data and products from being damaged. The card supports ATA/True IDE standard and consumes low power when operating, ideal for the applications used in harsh environment such as military aircraft, medical instrumentation, transportation vehicles, test and measurement equipments. The new ruggedized 640MB CF card is another excellent track record of Pretec’s relentless pursuit of innovation.

About Pretec
Pretec Electronics Corp. (http://www.pretec.com) offers a complete spectrum of small form factor memory cards and card readers such as ATA/CF card, Mini-IDE flash drive (MIDE), Smart Media, and MultiMedia Card for digital imaging, mobile computing, and Military/Industrial control market, and is the creator of Innovative CompactI/O card for PocketPC, digital cameras and many IA devices. Pretec has consistently demonstrated the highest capacity CF card in the world; such as 80MB, 128MB, 160MB, and 320MB CF card at various locations around the world for the past three years.

About Kodak Professional
Kodak Professional provides imaging professionals with quality products and solutions for virtually every step of the imaging chain -- from capture and production to archiving and distribution. The division serves a diverse set of customers, including commercial photographers, photojournalists, and portrait & wedding photographers, as well photo labs, commercial imaging service providers and the graphic services industry. These demanding imaging professionals constantly push the boundaries of quality, creativity, and skill -- and demand products and applications solutions that do the same. Kodak Professional is a leader in the infoimaging industry, a $225 billion industry created by the convergence of images and information technology. Infoimaging unites three closely related imaging segments -- devices (such as the DCS Pro Back and DCS 760 cameras), infrastructure, and services / media -- that enable people to more easily enjoy, share and profit from images.

*Note: Kodak and Kodak Professional are trademarks of Eastman Kodak Company. MIDE, CompactI/O are trademarks of Pretec Electronics Corporation. PocketPC is trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned herein are recognized as the property of their respective holders.




Ricoh and Pretec Team Up to Show 640MB CompactFlash Card

The largest capacity CF card in the world works perfectly with the first Internet-ready digital camera in the world

New York, N.Y June 25, 2001 (PC Expo) – The largest capacity CompactFlash card in the world, 640MB from Pretec Electronics Corp. has been tested and approved by Ricoh Co. Ltd. in Japan to be compatible with Ricoh RDC-i700 and RDC-i500 (2048 x 1536, 3.34 megapixel) digital cameras running current firmware.

Ricoh’s RDC-i700 is the World’s first network and Internet–ready digital camera. With RDC-i700’s excellent image capture and build-in communication capabilities, this camera provides the ability for users to send and receive images via email and to browse the Internet. RDC-i700 was selected by Time Magazine as “Invention of the year 2000” in the Consumer Technology category in it’s December 4, 2000 issue. When equipped with Pretec CompactModem� or CompactLAN� card, RDC-i700/RDC-i500 combines digital imaging and the power of the Internet so that the user may capture still pictures, sounds or videos and instantly share them with anyone, at anytime, from anywhere. Pretec’s 640MB CF card provides needed capacity for RDC i700, taking approximately 527 pictures under the highest resolution mode or 1500 pictures for XGA resolution, or 3900 pictures for VGA resolution, and capturing up to one (1) hour moves in AVI format.

“High capacity flash card is an important part of the image communication on the run, the combination of Pretec 640MB CF card and Ricoh RDC-i700/RDC-i500 provides excellent choice of image capture and communication for business users such as Journalists/Reporters, Real Estate Brokers, Insurance Agents, Law Enforcement Officers, etc.” said Jeff Lengyel, Manager of Wireless Imaging. “We are pleased to team up with Pretec to offer Dependable Digital TM solutions for the mobile business communities”

In addition to the approved Pretec CF memory cards ranging from 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB , 320MB and 640MB, Pretec 56Kbps CompactModem card and 10Mbps CompactLAN card have all been approved by Ricoh as excellent image communication companions working with RDC-i700 and RDC-i500 (http://ext.ricoh.co.jp/dc/product/rdci700/option.html)

Industrial and Military grade 640MB CF card is also available from Pretec. Designed with precision mechanics, and full metal protection, the breakthrough product sustains a wide range ( -40°C - 125°C) working temperature and offers ultimate level of new data protection and security features to prevent user’s image files, software, crucial data and products from being damaged. The card supports ATA/True IDE standard and consumes low power when operating, ideal for the applications used in harsh environment such as military aircraft, medical instrumentation, transportation vehicles, test and measurement equipments. The new ruggedized 640MB CF card is another excellent track record of Pretec’s relentless pursuit of innovation.

About Pretec
Pretec Electronics Corp. (http://www.pretec.com) offers a complete spectrum of small form factor memory cards and card readers such as ATA/CF card, Mini-IDE flash drive (MIDE), Smart Media, and MultiMedia Card for digital imaging, mobile computing, and Military/Industrial control market, and is the creator of Innovative CompactI/O card for PocketPC, digital cameras and many IA devices. Pretec has consistently demonstrated the highest capacity CF card in the world; such as 80MB, 128MB, 160MB, and 320MB CF card at various locations around the world for the past three years.

About Ricoh
Ricoh Corporation, headquartered in West Caldwell, NJ, is a subsidiary of Ricoh Co. Ltd. Of Japan; the 67-year-old leading supplier of office automation equipment, cameras, and image communication devices with sales in excess of $10 billion. Ricoh Corporation was recently selected as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies for the second year in a row by Fortune magazine.

*Note: MIDE, CompactI/O, CompactModem, and CompactLAN are trademarks of Pretec Electronics Corporation. Dependable Digital TM is a trademark of Ricoh Corporation. PocketPC is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned herein are recognized as the property of their respective holders.

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