Lexar Media Announces New Write Acceleration Technology

September 24, 2002 - Lexar Media today announces its new line of Professional Series CompactFlash memory cards with Write Acceleration technology engineered to significantly improve image file write speed when used with partner digital cameras. Write Acceleration technology allows digital cameras and digital media to achieve image write speeds up to 23 percent faster in cameras tested. Digital camera companies currently supporting Write Acceleration technology include Kodak Professional, Nikon and Sanyo. Lexar Media and partners will demonstrate new CompactFlash memory cards plus specific digital cameras that support the new technology at Photokina in Cologne, Germany.

"Write Acceleration technology is our latest performance innovation extending our leadership position in high-speed digital media," said Eric Stang, president and CEO of Lexar Media. "Write Acceleration technology improves the write speed of our cards and optimises the write performance of our partners' cameras by reducing the overhead required to store an image. Lexar Media continuously works with partners to improve digital camera and media performance. We look forward to announcing additional digital cameras supporting this technology."

Write Acceleration Technology
Write Acceleration technology will be introduced inside Lexar Media 24X-speed Professional Series CompactFlash, the Company's highest performance memory cards where 24X equals a minimum write speed capability of 3.6MB per second. Lexar Media pioneered the adoption of the "X" speed rating for solid-state storage, where X equals 150kb per second, as used by other digital storage devices such as CD ROMs. Write Acceleration technology is the result of a combination of Lexar Media's proprietary high-speed flash memory controller technology, the latest single-level-cell flash memory -- more than twice as fast as multi-level-cell flash chips increasingly used by other memory card manufacturers -- and a cooperation with major digital camera manufacturers to reduce the overhead associated with writing large amounts of data to memory cards.

The most significant performance advantages made possible by Write Acceleration technology can be seen in high-resolution professional cameras that produce large image files. The increase in write speed becomes even more noticeable when several images are shot in burst or continuous mode. Actual performance data will vary between cameras, resolution and shooting modes.

Examples of faster speeds achieved by Write Acceleration technology include a 23 percent write speed increase from a Write Acceleration-enabled Nikon D1X shooting in 5.9 Megapixel high-quality RAW mode (7.9MB .NEF file) and a Lexar Media Professional Series 24X-speed 512MB CompactFlash card with Write Acceleration, versus the same memory card without. The Kodak Professional Pro Back 645M, when paired with a 24X-speed Write Acceleration-enabled card, realized a write speed increased of 8 percent when shooting a 16 Megapixel RAW file (18.2MB).

In point-and-shoot cameras such as the Sanyo DSC-MZ3, the same Write Acceleration technology that benefits professional cameras with shorter click-to-click times, can enable higher bandwidth features, such as the ability to capture significantly longer high-quality video clips (640 x 480 resolution at 30 fps).

Ron Glaz, program manager for IDC's Worldwide Digital Imaging Solutions and Services, said, "Digital camera resolution amplification and added features like video capture have placed greater demand on a camera's performance. Lexar Media's continuous emphasis to improve digital media speeds benefits the entire digital imaging community. Collaborating with digital cameras manufacturers to assure greater camera performances augments their purpose in securing improved image processing."

Write Acceleration technology will initially be offered on the Lexar Media Professional Series CompactFlash in capacities of 256MB and 512MB. Write Acceleration-enabled cards do not affect the performance of digital cameras without the technology.

For more information, please call 1-800-789-9418 or visit www.lexarmedia.com.