Lexar ExpressCard Solid-state Drive, a USB Drive Inside

Most of us are used to solid state drives in the form of thumbdrive sticking out of their USB ports. If you've a ExpressCard slot that has been shipping on lappies since 2005, you now can slide the new Lexar ExpressCard SSD card into one of those empty slots. ExpressCard is viewed as the external extension of PCI Express, except it also provides a dedicated USB 2.0 host. The Lexar SSD is one that houses NAND memory and USB 2.0 controller so the card actually uses the Hi-Speed USB connection. If you can find an adapter, you can hook this up to a USB port, technically. So, for the Lexar SSD, you get up to 16GB storage that is additionally enhanced for ReadyBoost use in Vista. The company also throws in a copy of auto-backup software for added value. The 4GB will retail for $129.99, 8GB for $199.99. The 16GB pricing has yet been decided. We'll find out the speeds as soon as our eval unit arrives.

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