Bannco Unveils the XScorch 360: The debate between which method to play video games has been going on for a very long time, as both sides bicker on what’s better: PC mouse-and-keyboard, or the console’s standard controller. Well, for a lot of PC gamers out there (and vice versa), there’s just one of those titles out there that you want to play on the console, but can’t shy away from that mouse of yours. Bannco has the answer for you: the XScorch 360. [via TG Daily]

Active Media Launches 16 and 32GB eSATA USB SSD Drive: The standard flash drive is still used quite a bit nowadays, and it’s primarily dealt with USB drives. They’re easy to use, and most PCs come with a multitude of ports to choose from. But it looks like Active Media wants to go a different route. While it may seem different to most, the truth is the methodology results in faster data transfers, which we can never shy away from. (What can we say? We transfer a lot of data.) The company has created two variants, a 16GB and 32GB model, both with USB capabilities. So, the same good ol’ USB connector, but with faster eSATA transfer rates. Win-win, if you ask us. [via Hot Hardware]

Chrysler Announces the Fiat 500 is Coming to America: No doubt, electric cars are still all the rage. People want to save money on gas, and getting a nice tax credit definitely doesn’t hurt. So, Chrysler wants to make sure that everyone knows their latest all-electric vehicle, which made a previous, limited edition run in Europe, is coming to the States in 2012. Yeah, there will be plenty of other models from different companies that release between now and then, but hey, this one is definitely easy on the eyes. [via Autoblog]

AGENT Creates Soccer Ball of the Future: We’ve been hearing a lot of talk about 3D, and how it relates to events like the Barclays Premiere League, and the FIFA World Cup ready to kick off in just a few months. But, there’s one area that seems to be neglected all the time, and we don’t mean the pitch (which is known as the field here in the States). The soccer ball. And, sure, you may look at the ball and think that there’s not much room for improvement, but, AGENT begs to differ. They’ve created a translucent ball, that lights up depending on actions occurring on the field. Yeah, we know. It’s awesome. [via Design Boom]

Old Time Computer Wants to Make You Look Rich, With Wood: Think your computer looks boring? Why not spruce it up with some wooden casing? Old Time Computer can do that for you, and it’s not as expensive as you might think, considering the workmanship and detail that goes into the project. It’s a pretty simple snap-on case though, so even if it gets heavy on the eyes at some point, you should be able to just take it right off. Getting a case for your iMac will cost you about $265, and you can change your keyboard in the same fashion as well, but that will cost you an additional $345. [via DVICE]

The four cards also manage 90MB per second read rates, and can operate in temperatures between 0 and 70 degrees centigrade.  Pricing kicks off at $99.95 and rises to $299.95 for the 64GB CF card; they should be on sale through Amazon.

Since USB 3.0 peripherals stand a good chance of being more power-hungry than their USB 2.0 counterparts, both Active Media cards have a power-input to supply each of the two ports with sufficient juice.  They’re also backward compatible with USB 2.0, of course, and capable of up to USB 3.0′s theoretical 4.8Gbits/sec bandwidth.

Right now you’ll struggle to find a huge range of device to actually plug in, but we’re seeing a few external hard-drives trickle through that take advantage of the speed boost.  Both cards are available now from Amazon, priced at $35 for the internal PCIe card and $40 for the ExpressCard.

The new line of upgrade SSDs are mini PCIe cards that use the 3Gbps SATA-II interface. The SSDs use MLC NAND technology for performance and reliability. The drives are guaranteed to be compatible with Eee PC models S101, 900, 900A, 901, and 1000.

Other features of the SSD line includes ECC error correction, bad bit management, and wear leveling algorithm to extend the SSD life. The drives will come in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB and work with windows 7, Vista, XP, Linux, and Mac OS 10.x and up. Sequential read speed for the drives is up to 130MB/sec and sequential write is up to 50MB/sec.

Meanwhile performance is clocked at up to 230MB/sec sequential read rates and up to 180MB/sec sequential write rates, courtesy of the Jmicron JMF612 controller with its own 128MB of DRAM cache.  There’s also wear-leveling, automatic bad block management and hardware ECC, and a mini-USB port for transferring files onto the SSD without actually installing it into a system.  Prices kick off at $149 and rise to $699 when the Predator X7 SSDs land in November.

Thanks to USB 3.0, the new SSDs can boast transfer speeds of up to 4.8Gbits/sec, though of course that’s theoretical rather than what you’ll likely see in practice.  Still, Active Media say it’s good enough to offer 240Mb/s read speeds and 160Mb/s write speeds; that’ll shuffle a 25GB high-definition movie from your PC to the drive in about two minutes.

The drives themselves are less than 3-inches long and 0.2-inches thick, are USB bus powered, and backward compatible with USB 1.1 and USB 2.0.  They’ll begin shipping this quarter, at $89 for the 16GB, $119 for the 32GB and $209 for the 64GB.

Press Release:

Active Media Products Announces Aviator 312 Line of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 External SSDs

Ultra-Small 16GB, 32GB and 64GB SSDs Support up to 240MB/sec Read Speeds and up to 160MB/sec Write Speeds

Fremont, California – October 5, 2009 – Active Media Products, manufacturer of SSDs and innovative USB drives, today announced the Aviator 312 line of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 external SSDs.

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 supports transfer speeds up to 4.8Gbits/sec — ten times faster than USB 2.0. A312 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 external SSDs take advantage of USB 3.0′s massive bandwidth, delivering unprecedented transfer speeds in an extremely compact mobile flash storage device. Measuring less than 3 inches long and only 0.2 inches thin, the A312 is smaller than a credit card and is designed to fit in a pocket. A312 SSDs can save a 25GB full-length HD movie in about two minutes. What used to take an hour to save will take only seconds with the A312 thanks to its scorching write speeds of up to 160MB/s and read speeds up to 240MB/s..

Aviator 312 SSDs are designed for external use, and include a carrying pouch and a USB 3.0 Micro-B cable for connection to any USB port. The 312 is fully backward compatible; it works in any USB 2.0 or 1.1 port, but requires a SuperSpeed port to reach its full performance capabilities. Unlike many other high speed external storage devices, the A312 does not require a separate power source. It draws all the power it needs directly from the USB bus. The A312 will be offered in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities.

Jerry Thomson, vice president of sales at Active Media Products commented, “Aviator 312 SSDs are a ground-breaking product with performance that is eight to ten times faster than today’s fastest USB 2.0 flash drives. For anyone who doesn’t have hours to waste copying large files there’s nothing that comes close to the Aviator 312′s speed”. Aviator 312 SSDs will begin shipping this quarter through Amazon at expected retail prices of $89, $119 and $209 for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models respectively.

Active Media’s VP of sales, Jerry Thomson, is particularly enthusiastic about the drive; you can tell this man loves polar bears.  According to Thomson, ”the WWF Polar Bear drive is an awesome drive” and the company “strived to make every detail physically consistent with a real polar bear.”  That doesn’t, sadly, extend to scale; the USB-bear is in fact a 40:1 model with silicone rubber “hair texture”.

The 2.6-inch long bear is available in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities, and unlike a real polar bear (as far as I’m aware) has a keyring hole in its tail.  Pricing starts at $9.95 for the smallest, rising to $42.95 for the 16GB drive, with 5-percent of the retail price going to the WWF.

Press Release:

Active Media Products Unveils Windows 7 Compatible Polar Bear USB Drive

Silicone Rubber USB Drive is Lead- and PVC-Free and Benefits World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Fremont, California, July 21, 2009 – Active Media Products (AMP), manufacturer of SSDs and unique USB drives including the Obama drive, today began shipping a WWF Polar Bear USB flash drive that is compatible with Windows® 7 and benefits WWF. Under its licensing agreement with WWF AMP develops and sells a series of portable USB flash drives in the likeness of endangered species, and contributes five percent of the retail price of this product line to WWF.
The Polar Bear drive is a fun way to carry all your important data. Offered in capacities up to 16GB, the Polar Bear drive can store thousands of MP3 songs, photos and presentations and still have space for your favorite video clips. This precision crafted drive is an accurate 40:1 scale model of a real polar bear, and even has ‘hair texture’. The non-toxic silicone rubber casing is completely free of PVC, lead and mercury – toxic materials commonly found in USB drives. The keychain hole in the tail is perfect for attaching the Polar Bear drive to a keyring, backpack or briefcase. The drive can stand on all fours or, at only 2.6 inches long and 1.5 inches tall, is small enough to carry in your pocket.

Part NumberDescriptionRetail Price
R1G-POLAR-W1GB WWF Polar Bear USB Drive$9.95
R2G-POLAR-W2GB WWF Polar Bear USB Drive$12.95
R4G-POLAR-W4GB WWF Polar Bear USB Drive$18.95
R8G-POLAR-W8GB WWF Polar Bear USB Drive$24.95
R16G-POLAR-W16GB WWF Polar Bear USB Drive$42.95

According to Jerry Thomson, VP of Sales, “The WWF Polar Bear drive is an awesome drive. We strived to make every detail physically consistent with a real polar bear. It’s more than just a square USB drive, it’s a storage device that computer users will love to own and enjoy using, and every purchase benefits WWF.” The Polar Bear drive joins the Panda and Penguin drives as the third product in AMP’s WWF series. The WWF Polar Bear drive is available now through Amazon, Tiger Direct and other online retailers.
About Active Media Products
Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, Active Media Products LLC is dedicated to developing creative new media products that improve performance and enhance the user’s experience. Our products include the Obama USB drives and the World Wildlife Fund series of endangered species USB drives and a range of solid state drives.
About World Wildlife Fund
WWF is the world’s leading conservation organization, working in 100 countries for nearly half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. WWF is a registered trademark of World Wildlife Fund. Usable storage may be less than specified after formatting.

The SaberTooth-S range are the entry-level SSDs, consisting of 16GB and 32GB Mini PCIe cards.  They’re rated for sequential read speeds of up to 90 MB/sec and write speeds of up to 55 MB/sec, and are priced at $62.95 and $96.85 respectively.

As for the SaberTooth-SS range, those 16GB, 32Gb and 64GB Mini PCIe cards can manager up to 155MB/sec read rates and up to 100MB/sec write rates.  That, Active Media claims, makes them the fastest SSD upgrade available for the Eee PC; they’re priced at $82.85, $124.95 and $219.95 respectively.

All five of the cards use the SATA-II 3Gbps interface and have ECC, bad bit management and wear leveling.  They’re guaranteed to work with the ASUS Eee PC S101, 900, 900A and 901 models.

Available in 64GB and 128GB capacities, each SSD comes in a brushed aluminum housing, together with a bracket to allow for mounting in a 3.5-inch bay.  Like the MasterDrive SX range, the 64GB Predator GT has sequential write rates of up to 120MB/sec, while the 128GB version ups that to 200MB/sec.

The Predator GT also features 128MB of SDRAM cache and a new 8-channel controller.  Both models are on sale now, priced at $199.95 for the 64GB Predator GT and $369.95 for the 128GB; that’s about $10 more than the Super Talent equivalent.

Neither do they have PVC-free non-toxic silicone rubber bodies, like the Active Media penguins have.  The company also claims that their drive is free of lead and mercury. 

No matter how many they sell, Active Media are pledging to give at least $25,000 to the WWF fund, so even if you’re lazy and apathetic about your novelty flash storage it’s nice to know the animals will still get a donation.  The penguin drives are available now, priced between $12.95 and $42.95.

Press Release:

Active Media Products Launches Penguin USB Flash Drive

Lead- and PVC-Free Silicone Rubber USB Drive Benefits World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Fremont, California – June 10, 2009 – Active Media Products (AMP) today announced a new WWF Penguin USB flash drive. Under its licensing agreement with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) AMP develops and sells a series of portable USB flash drives in the likeness of endangered species, and contributes five percent of the retail price of this product line to WWF.
AMP’s second product in this series benefitting WWF is a rubber USB flash drive bearing the likeness of an emperor penguin, but measuring just two and a quarter inches in height. The Penguin drive, like the WWF Panda drive introduced in May, is made of PVC-free non-toxic silicone. The drive is also free of lead and mercury — poisonous metals used in other USB drives. The Penguin drive is offered in capacities up to 16GB.

Part Number Description
R2G-PENGUIN-W2GB WWF Penguin USB Drive
R4G-PENGUIN-W4GB WWF Penguin USB Drive
R8G-PENGUIN-W8GB WWF Penguin USB Drive
R16G-PENGUIN-W16GB WWF Penguin USB Drive

Portable Storage with Character

“The Penguin drive is a unique product that merges form and function to make an excellent storage device. It’s a portable flash drive with character”, stated Jerry Thomson, vice president of marketing at Active Media Products. Mr. Thomson added, “Our contribution to WWF helps preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, which is something we feel really good about.” Active Media Products donates 5% of the retail price of this merchandise to WWF, with a minimum annual contribution of $25,000.

Both Penguin and Panda drives are available immediately from Amazon and other retailers in the US. The 8GB Penguin drive retails for around $26.

About Active Media Products

Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, Active Media Products LLC is dedicated to developing creative new media products that improve performance and enhance the user’s experience. We envision unique new mobile storage devices that are vastly more interesting than traditional storage bricks, and we apply our product design and engineering talents to developing exciting new storage products. Our focus on innovative product development enables us to launch new ideas into the market a step ahead of the competition. AMP strives toward sustainable manufacturing.

About World Wildlife Fund

WWF is the world’s leading conservation organization, working in 100 countries for nearly half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more.