August 15, 2006 – Today, Kingston Technology Company updated its media card product line, adding an 8GB CompactFlash Ultimate card with a 133x write speed and free recovery software.
“The addition of the new 8-GB, 133x, CompactFlash card provides a powerful solution for photographers who are using more advanced imaging applications and need both the additional storage and speed of a high-capacity memory card,” according to today’s press release.
Kingston introduced the 8GB 133x Ultimate card with a write speed of 20-23MB/sec. Kingston also updated its existing 2GB and 4GB cards, increasing the write speed to 133x. Kingston updated all the memory card packages, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB, to include free Windows-based Ontrack EasyRecovery DataRecovery 6.1. All cards come with a lifetime warranty and a 24-hour technical support, according to the release.
“The demand for higher speed and image recovery software is growing among professional photographers and serious amateurs,” said Kingston memory product manager Joe Teng.
The California-based company is the self-ascribed “world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products,” according to the release. Kingston joins the ranks of competitors Lexar and SanDisk who released 8GB media cards earlier in July. Lexar’s 133x Professional 8GB CompactFlash, comparably priced at $424.99, has a write speed of 20MB/sec. SanDisk, who released their 8GB just one day after Lexar, prices their Extreme IV CompactFlash 40MB/sec card at $639.99, nearly $200 more than the Kingston card. The Kingston 8GB card will purportedly operate at temperatures between -32º to 140ºF while the SanDisk Extreme IV can withstand -13º to 185ºF.
The retail price of Kingston’s 1GB 100x card is $67. The 2GB 133x card is priced at $137 and the 4GB 133x is $249. The 8GB 133x card retails at $449.
