COMDEX 2002: Pretec Electronics Corp. has announced three new high capacity Compact Flash cards. Previously their largest capacity had been 640 MB, these new cards widen their range considerably. The 1.5 GB and 3.0 GB are CF Type II, the 2.0 GB is CF Type I. These new cards are all larger than anything else on the market, the 3.0 GB card will no doubt be of special interest to digital SLR photographers whose cameras continue to create larger and larger files as the manufacturers increase resolution year on year.

Phil: As pointed out by our forums members anything more than 2 GB is a problem for the FAT16 filesystem used by the majority of digital cameras. Pretec aren't yet commenting on whether the 3 GB card could be used on such digital cameras so we must assume that this high capacity card would only be useful on digital camera's which support a FAT32 filesystem (currently only Canon's EOS-1Ds).

Press Release:

Pretec introduces the world’s largest capacity 1.5 GB, 2GB and 3GB CompactFlash Card

Las Vegas, NV, November 18, 2002 - Pretec Electronics Corp., the innovative and quality flash disk manufacturer since 1993, today introduced 1.5 gigabytes (GB), 2GB and 3GB CompactFlashTM Card (CF), the highest capacity of any small form factor flash memory card in the world. The new devices offer great solution for the need of high storage capacity dictated by the ever increasing demand for storing large digital content files, such as audio, digital still and video images.

The highest capacity CF card currently available in the market is 1GB, also available from Pretec. The demonstration of the 1.5GB CF card will be shown at Pretec booth #11258 at Central Hall, LVCC. Samples available immediately. 2GB and 3GB CF cards from Pretec will be demonstrated at Pretec private suite in Comdex by invitation only. 3GB CF card will be priced at $2499 for sampling quantity by the end of this year.

Industrial and military grade 1.5GB, 2GB, and 3GB CF cards are also available from Pretec. Designed with precision mechanics, and full metal protection, the breakthrough product sustains a wide range (-40° ~ 125°) 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 1.5GB, 2GB and 3GB CF cards are another excellent track record of Pretec's relentless pursuit of innovation.