Miglia Technology announces the Alchemy FW 800 CB laptop expansion card

London, UK, 26th March 2004 - Miglia Technology, a global technology solution provider that manufactures, markets and supports a range of own and licensed branded products, has today announced the Alchemy FW 800 CB laptop expansion card.

Eric Ferraz, Product Marketing Director, Miglia Technology, commented: "FireWire is an incredibly effective technology. Many peripheral device manufacturers are equipping their products with this connectivity as standard, taking advantage of its speed and ease of use. Many laptop users still cannot access FireWire devices as they either do not have FireWire as standard, or they have the outdated FW 400 version. The Miglia Alchemy FW 800 CB laptop expansion card is a simple and cost effective solution that will bridge this gap."


About the Alchemy FW 800 CB

The Alchemy FW 800 PC-Card card is a cost effective way to add or upgrade FireWire connectivity to your PowerBook or PC laptop.
Supporting both FireWire 400 and 800 devices, it enables your fast 800 Mbit/s hard drives to reach transfer speeds of up to 50 MB/sec! Best of all, its dual connectivity allows the easy connection of old and new FireWire peripherals.

Covered by a two year Miglia warranty, the Alchemy FW 800 CB is a great choice for those wanting to expand their system to the latest FireWire generation.


Key features:

• Easy installation - Simply plug the card into a free PC-Card slot - The Alchemy FW 800 CB is simply installed in a PC-Card slot of your Mac or PC.


• Latest generation Texas Instrument chipset - To guarantee the best compatibility and performance, the Alchemy card uses the latest TI chipset.


• Two 9-pin bilingual ports - The two FireWire 800 (9-pin) connectors will run with all your new FW 800 peripherals as well as your existing FireWire 400 devices (with converter cable).


• Single 6-pin port - A great feature of the Alchemy FW 800 CB is the single 'old-style' 6-pin FireWire port. No need to purchase expensive converter cables (9 to 6 pin) to run your FireWire 400 peripherals.


• Optional power supply to allow bus-powering - If you want to connect bus-powered devices like 2.5" hard drives, you can use the external power supply for Alchemy FW 800 CB available as an option.


• Dual connectivity support - The Alchemy FW 800 CB features two connectivity standards: 9 pin, the 'new style' introduced with the launch of 800 Mbps devices and 6 pin, the 'old style' connector for FireWire 400 devices. Alchemy's dual connectivity lets you connect your existing FW400 devices with a standard cable, thus saving you the cost of an additional converter.

Compatibility:

Mac

• PowerBook G3 or G4 with free PC-Card slot
• Mac OS 9.1+ (400 Mbps speeds only)
• Mac OS X 10.2.5 and higher

PC

• Windows PC Laptop with free PC-Card slot
• Windows XP ( IEEE 1394b speeds available pending Windows update)
• Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 (400 Mbps speeds only)

Pricing and availability

The Alchemy FW 800 CB expansion card is available now, from Miglia's distribution partners, refurb or online store, for a recommended retail price of $89, €79, £59 ex VAT. All units carry a full 2 year RTB warranty. A list of distributors and resellers is available here.


About Miglia

Miglia, now a division of HDMI Group, is a manufacturer of both computer and consumer electronics accessories for the digital lifestyle. The company's products leverage high-end audio, video and voice technologies and apply them to the broader consumer marketplace. HDMI Group's vision is to provide PC, Mac and digital lifestyle accessories that enhance the user's experience.