FirmTek Announces First Shipments of the World’s First Serial ATA
ExpressCard Adapter for MacBook Pro
The SeriTek/2SM2-E Equips the Latest Macintosh and PC Notebooks With the
Power Needed to Perform as Portable Digital Video Studios
UNION CITY, California (June 8, 2006) — FirmTek, LLC, a pioneer and leader
in Serial ATA (SATA) storage solutions for the Macintosh and PC platforms,
is now shipping their anticipated SeriTek/2SM2-E ExpressCard adapter, a
full month ahead of original projections. Announced at NAB, this
breakthrough solution provides the MacBook Pro with storage performance
capable of streaming live video directly to disk. Now professional and
amateur videographers can perform almost any and all of their work in the
field. FirmTek’s established hot-swap compatibility also makes it easy for
users to move entire drives and arrays from the MacBook Pro to any
FirmTek-equipped desktop system, or into secure storage, in seconds.
A New Card Standard for Digital Media Applications
With the arrival of the MacBook Pro earlier this year, Apple introduced its
first systems utilizing ExpressCard, the industry’s follow-up to the
long-established PC Card standard that is now considered too sluggish for
the latest needs of media professionals. With nearly double the throughput
of PC Cards, the ExpressCard standard allows notebooks to support
applications involving HD video and other demanding content. FirmTek’s
SeriTek/2SM2-E is the first ExpressCard solution shipping that supports
SATA drives and enclosures. While marketed primarily for the Macintosh, the
SeriTek/2SM2-E and FirmTek’s hot-swap enclosures are also fully compatible
with ExpressCard-equipped Windows machines.
The Storage “Bottleneck,” Now Removed
While the MacBook Pro presents the most powerful portable platform ever
available, its stock storage and interfaces have presented a hurdle for
video production. The internal drive provided is not large enough for true
video production work, and the FireWire and USB ports do not provide the
necessary performance. FirmTek’s solutions uniquely remove this barrier,
providing both the speed and the flexible, unlimited capacity needed for
mobile video production. These same benefits can enable other professionals
who need to create and manipulate large, complex files “on-the-go.”
Portability and Flexibility
FirmTek has pioneered ATA storage standards on the Macintosh for many
years, and markets a variety of enclosures and interface solutions for
demanding users. Since the introduction of Serial ATA, the ability to
hot-swap drives between enclosures has been a key feature across FirmTek’s
solutions, and this benefit is more pronounced than ever with the
SeriTek/2SM2-E. Now videographers, editors and other content creators can
work in the field, using a compact and easily portable two-drive enclosure
and as many drives as they choose to carry. Once back in the office, large
volumes are easily moved to any desktop system in the time it takes to move
a drive tray from one enclosure to another, in just seconds. This
flexibility allows users to share important data quickly, transfer or
duplicate files at the speed of SATA (instead of over sluggish networks or
Internet connections), and to keep more sensitive files locked up and
secure with minimal effort.
To assist customers in optimizing their productivity and obtaining maximum
benefit from their FirmTek solutions, FirmTek offers additional drive trays
for $22.99 each, without any additional purchases required. This enables
customers to keep an unlimited number of drives on hand and ready for
action.
Pricing and Availability
FirmTek’s SeriTek/2SM2-E ExpressCard adapter for the Macintosh is available
now, with estimated retail pricing of USD$119.95. It is also available in
specially priced bundles with selected hot-swappable drive enclosures. For
more information about the SeriTek/2SM2-E and the bundles, please visit
FirmTek’s website at http://www.firmtek.com/seritek/seritek-2sm2-e.
About FirmTek
Headquartered in Silicon Valley and founded by former Apple engineers,
FirmTek is a leading hardware and firmware research and development company
focusing on Macintosh storage technologies. The company takes pride in
developing the most reliable and most compatible high performance
enhancement solutions offered through FirmTek’s OEM and worldwide
distribution channels. For information on how FirmTek helps users deploy,
and organizations develop, advanced interface solutions, visit FirmTek’s
website at www.firmtek.com, or email info@firmtek.com.