Japan gets USB-connectible SD card

Japanese peripherals maker Keian has launched the latest attempt to make SD memory cards sit comfortably in computers' USB ports. The company's PSB (Personal Storage Disc) product replaces past SD/USB cards' complicated folding panels with a simple removable wedge that, once gone, allows one end of the card to be fitted into a USB port.

There's a downside of course: the risk of losing the wedge, which comes away from the card completely. Still, the card itself is larger, and therefore easier to keep an eye on, than Pretec's fingernail-sized USB Flash drive, launched in November 2005.

SanDisk launched its Ultra II SD Plus USB/SD card in January 2005. It surrounds its USB connector with a hinged, flip-up cover.

Keian is offering the part in capacities ranging from 128MB to 2GB. It claimed maximum read and write speeds of 13.5MBps and 11MBps, respectively, for the device. Prices range from ¥3,600 ($31) to ¥25,000 ($213). ®