Addonics IDE Ultra DigiDrive Reads/Writes To Nine Media Types; Supports Today's Popular Digital Media Storage Formats and Doubles as a PC Card Hard Drive Reader/Writer.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2002

Addonics Technologies today introduced an IDE interface drive solution with a PC Card (PCMCIA) slot that reads/writes to all of today's popular Flash media formats including ATA Flash and PC Card hard drive.

The Addonics IDE Ultra DigiDrive solves the incompatibility problem of Flash media types found in today's digital camcorders, PDAs, MP3 players, and digital voice recorders. The Ultra DigiDrive can be a 9-in-1 storage solution with the ability to read/write to 9 different types of media when used with the optional CF DigiAdapter and 4-in-1 DigiAdapter. The IDE interface connection also makes it one of the fastest Flash memory reader/writers on the market today.

Unlike Addonics' award-winning Internal DigiDrive, which has 4 media slots, the Ultra DigiDrive features one standard PCMCIA slot that can accommodate Type I/II/III PCMCIA devices. The device fits inside any 3.5-inch drive bay and connects to a standard IDE interface. The system BIOS automatically detects it as a bootable ATAPI removable drive, which allows the Ultra DigiDrive to be used like a regular floppy drive to read/write to ATA Flash media, PC Card (PCMCIA) hard drive, as well as to other popular flash media. To read/write to other flash media, Addonics provides the adapters to convert the flash media to PCMCIA form factor. The adapters can be purchased separately or as a bundled solution.

Users can boot their system from the Addonics IDE Ultra DigiDrive using with various types of flash media depending on the BIOS support on each computer. Data transfer rates are up to 16 MB/sec (depending on the type of media). The fast data transfer, the bootable capability and the nine media types flexibility make the Addonics IDE Ultra DigiDrive an indispensable storage device for all desktop PCs and computer equipment such as kiosks.

The base model Addonics IDE Ultra DigiDrive, which supports ATA Flash and PC card hard drive, has a list price of $59. The 9-in-1 model comes with the Addonics 4-in-1 DigiAdapter and the CF DigiAdapter and has a list price of $119.

The 4-in-1 DigiAdapter component plugs directly into the Ultra DigiDrive or any PC equipped with a PC Card slot. It reads/writes to four popular Flash media types -- Memory Stick, Smart Media, Secure Digital Card or Multimedia Card, via the PC Card (PCMCIA type II) slot. The 4-in-1 DigiAdapter can be purchased separately for $59.

The CF DigiAdapter is a simple and economical solution for converting Compact Flash memory and Micro Drive into PC Card (PCMCIA) card format. The CF DigiAdapter supports CF-I, CF-II, Micro Drive, memory and acts as a standard PC Card hard drive. The CF DigiAdapter can be purchased separately for $29.

The Ultra DigiDrive is compatible with all PCs with IDE/ATAPI support. The drive requires one free 3.5" drive bay or 5.25" drive bay (with adapter bracket). Operating system support includes: Windows 98/SE, Me, 2000, XP, and NT 4.0+SP6.

Addonics products are available through major catalog companies, resellers, VARs and distributors, including StorageUSA.com, Amazon.com, PC Connection, CDW, Buy.com, Insight, Ingram Micro, and Ma Lab.

Addonics Technologies Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a broad line of external storage products. Addonics is headquartered at 2466 Kruse Drive, San Jose, CA 95131, Phone: [phone]. Visit Addonics at www.addonics.com

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