SanDisk has partnered with Ducati to create limited edition products for purposes of branding. Ducati has nothing to do with the technology of these memory flash cards, but simply to lend it's name so as to equate the fast motorcycle speed with the fast transfer speed.
FEATURES:
1. SD PLUS - This feature was first seen in SanDisk's SD Plus Ultra II line, which is actually a card with built-in USB connectors. You swing the opposite end of the card down to reveal the metal contacts and simply insert the SD card to the USB slot of your computer. Therefore you do not need any other card reader to take along with you.
2. 20 MB/second Transfer Rate - This is nothing new with existing SD cards. It has been in existence with SanDisk's Extreme III line as well as other competitor "professional line" SD cards. Because of the speed, you pay more.
3. DUCATI RED packaging - This is what gives the card a sense of it's limited edition. Previous SanDisk cards were in plane black packaging. This
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has the bright red packaging often seen in the Italian heritage of motorsports such as Ferrari and Ducati.
4. SDHC - This makes the card basically incompatible with older SD formats used in earlier digital cameras because it now complies with SD 2.0 standard which uses a different memory addressing method. SDHC does not necessarily mean it's faster, but that it can accomodate "HIGH CAPACITY" memory. However, because of it's large sector addressing then the ability to read/write files become faster with large files.
5. RescuePRO Deluxe Recovery Software - Unlike other SanDisk cards, this card is supplied with the Deluxe version. The difference between the RescuePRO and RescuePRO Deluxe is the ability to recover a wider variety of files from different and higher end manufacturers as well as support high memory card capacity.
6. Keychain - This is supposed to include a special keychain to house the SDHC card. But seriously, I would prefer they supplied the usual transparent case than this tacky low-quality plastic keychain that no one will ever use. In fact I preferred they just supplied the usual regular plastic housing, but in Ducati Red. That would have appeared even more sporty.
VERDICT:
- While SD PLUS is a great feature that other SD manufacturers have followed suit in creating their own built-in USB connector, it is a flimsy application on the card that is mainly built with plastic. There are two plastic hinges on each side of the card to guide the second half of the card in swinging open and folding against the other half. Then there is another plastic tab to act as a lock in preventing the card from swinging open on it's own. Although I aboslutely love how this was created, time will tell how sturdy this action of opening and closing will be.
So my suggestion is to use it for emergency only and to bring along an SDHC card reader like I always do and which is usually provided FREE when purchasing SDHC cards from SanDisk.
- The transfer rate of 20 MB/sec, while extremely fast, is nothing new. For the price of this Ducati card, you can get the same transfer speed with their Extreme III line. The only difference between the Extreme III card and this Ducati Edition is the built-in USB connector versus a supplied FREE SDHC "micro mate" reader (which is actually very cool in black color and very small).
- I have to admit their marketing works as the reason for my purchase of this card is also because of the Ducati Red color and branding. Obviously, this is also the reason why they can command a high price. I have both Extreme III SDHC and Ducati Edition SDHC card and find no differrence in performance in terms of speed. However, in terms of coolness factor, it's a no brainer.
FINAL WORDS:
So overall FOUR (4) stars because it is supposedly a limited edition card in a very cool color. This card is combined with the best of both worlds by having the SD PLUS feature original found on the Ultra II coupled with the transfer speed of the Extreme III card.
Because there is no included SDHC reader, the recovery software has been upgraded to the higher end RescuePRO Deluxe version. Although I don't believe most users will be needing this version, let alone use the software at all, it's nice to know we have this at our disposal should the need arise.
However when reality kicks in, you don't need to pay a high price for this card with features already found in existing cards. And the manufacturer could have skipped on the memory card housing which is more disappointing that the regular cards.
But for those who have deeper pockets to spend, once again no apologies are needed to splurge on something like this. It is your own money, go ahead and enjoy what you want to splurge on.
NOTE: When it first came out, people were selling this ABOVE the suggested retail price. It is good to know that a lot of sellers are now selling it BELOW retail price. Because of this, there may be frequent inventory issues. It is good to plan ahead before purchasing to see if the card has been replaced with an even higher capacity version.
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