Sony Europe's Recording Media & Energy announced the launch of its first 5GB CompactFlash Type II media, under the new Compactvault brand.


The new Compactvault provides the latest addition to Sony's removable media range, enabling storage of up to 1600 images or four hours of MPEG 4 recording.


The one-inch hard disk drive boasts a native transfer rate of up to 96.7Mbps, which is further maximized when the Compactvalue is used in conjunction with future Cybercapture enabled products, providing even faster recording of images and higher quality of videos, in what is termed AV mode.

The new storage device is compatible with all products with a CF Type II slot.

"The COMPACTVAULT is the next step in the development of our removable media family", said Céline Haffner, Product Manager, Sony RME. "It offers high storage capacity for state-of-the-art digital cameras, such as the new Sony Cybershot R1. In addition, we expect to see devices becoming available in the future that take full advantage of our Cybercapture technology", she added.

The 5GB Compactvault will be available from November 2005.