By Patrick Avenell

SYDNEY: Lexar’s Jeff Cable, in Australia for PMA, gives Current.com.au all the tips on how to sell digital memory – and talks us through Lexar’s new range.

With the PMA conference in Brisbane this weekend, Lexar’s director of marketing, Jeff Cable, is in the country to promote a wide range of Lexar memory solutions. A self-confessed devotee of the digital age, Cable has formally worked with Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak and as vice president at Magellan.

Ever since receiving Ricoh RDC-1 (768×480 pixels, RRP US$2,000) in 1998, Cable has been a supporter of digital photography. Now, with the advances in new technology, only the supreme traditionalist would choose film over their digital cousins. In that knowledge, the correct choice of memory options is as vital as the choice of camera – there’s no point having a camera and taking a picture if you can’t store it cheaply and access it conveniently. It is here that Cable claims Lexar leads the pack in options and solutions.

According to Cable, Lexar is one of the respected brands in the professional photography industry. As evidence of this, he cites Lexar’s partnership with Kodak to provide the digital memory solutions for the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

In order to meet the memory demands of a professional photographer – someone who might take thousands of shots in a day – Lexar markets their Professional range in specialized photographic retailers. The flagship of this range is the 8GB UDMA CompactFlash, which features a 45MB/second transfer rate. Other products in this line include a 4GB SDHC card and readers compatible with both USB and FireWire.

To have a great professional range is a noble achievement, but professionals make up a minute proportion of photographers. It is the ability to capture the hobbyist and the amateur that drives a company’s profits. To this end, Cable talks of the “trickle down effect” that he uses to market the Platinum II range of products. This range caters to the everyday snapper, which essentially means everyone that owns a digital camera. By making the general consumer aware of Lexar’s standing in the professional community, Cable believes that the trust he has for the products will resonate with the general retail buyer. This is the advice Cable has for commercial sellers. Included in this range is the 4GB CompactFlash, the 4GB SDHC card and the 2GB SD card.

A major selling point of Lexar’s range, one that Cable was especially keen to promote, is their Image Rescue Software, which comes bundles with the Professional range and is compatible accessory to their Platinum II range. Asked about the things to look for when buying memory, Cable made this assessment: “Capacity and speed are important, but reliability is essential.”
 
It makes sense, as the ability to take lots of photos really fast is negated if you accidentally delete them. To overcome this, Cable recommended that you always check what recovery options your choice of memory solution offers.

Jeff Cable will be representing Lexar at the PMA Conference in Brisbane: 30 May-1 June.