Lexar announces new memory cards, backup solutions

Lexar has announced a range of new products for imaging and mobile devices, including SDHC cards and a backup solution for netbooks and laptops.

The Echo SE and ZE drives are portable ways to back-up data on netbooks and laptops. The ZE drive is one of the smallest flash drives on the market, measuring 2.01x1.51cm and is a plug-and-stay solution that sits in a spare USB port in the host device, continuously backing up files. The Lexar Echo ZE retails for AU$46.40 in the 8GB variant, AU$83.50 for 16GB, and AU$148.45 for 32GB. The Lexar Echo SE retails for AU$83.50 for 16GB, AU$148.45 for 32GB and AU$278.35 for 64GB.

Also announced by the company were new SDHC cards in 16GB and 32GB capacities, with the maximum class 10 speed rating at 133x. The 16GB variant will retail for AU$128.45 and the 32GB for AU$250.20.

According to Richard Clarke, Australia and New Zealand sales manager for Lexar, the company saw unit sales of SD cards increase in 2009, with 95-96 per cent of memory card sales made up of that format. However, sales for microSD cards dropped, which was due to the dominance of the Apple iPhone, as well as other mobile phones coming bundled with memory cards. Clarke stated that next year will see the popularity of microSDHC cards grow thanks to the rise of Android phones.