Lexar#USB FlashCard

Lexar was founded as an American manufacturer of digital media products based in San Jose, California. Products manufactured by Lexar include SD cards, CompactFlash cards, USB flash drives, card readers and solid-state drives.{{cite web|title=Lexar Adds Xploder Lite Software To Its Gaming Edition Memory Cards|url=http://www.lexar.com/about/newsroom/press-releases/lexar-adds-xploder-lite-software-its-gaming-edition-memory-cards|publisher=Lexar Media, Inc|accessdate=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110214210/http://www.lexar.com/about/newsroom/press-releases/lexar-adds-xploder-lite-software-its-gaming-edition-memory-cards|archive-date=10 November 2013|url-status=dead}} Once a division of Cirrus Logic, Lexar leveraged its parent company's experience in building ATA controllers in developing its own flash controllers. Lexar was spun off from Cirrus Logic in 1996.{{cite web|title=Lexar Media Holds The Right Cards|url=https://www.forbes.com/2003/04/10/cx_ah_0410flash.html|work=Forbes|accessdate=10 November 2013}} Lexar was created by Petro Estakhri and Mike Assar.{{cite web|title=Lexar Awarded $380 Million in Damages|url=http://www.photographyblog.com/news/lexar_awarded_380_million_in_damages/ |website=PhotographyBlog.com |date=24 March 2005 |publisher=Photo 360 Limited|accessdate=10 November 2013}}

In 2002, Lexar filed a lawsuit against Toshiba, alleging that Toshiba had copied its NAND flash memory technology. In 2005, a California jury initially awarded Lexar a total of $465 million in damages, after which Toshiba filed an appeal. In September 2006, following Lexar’s acquisition by Micron Technology, Toshiba agreed to settle all outstanding litigation by purchasing certain patents and rights previously owned by Lexar for $288 million.{{cite web| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/03/21/daily32.html| title=Lexar wins patent suit against Toshiba| date=March 23, 2005| publisher=Silicon Valley Business Journal| access-date=October 7, 2015}}{{Cite web |last=LaPedus |first=Mark |date=2005-12-06 |title=Toshiba files appeal in Lexar suit |url=https://www.eetimes.com/toshiba-files-appeal-in-lexar-suit/ |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=EE Times}}{{Cite web |title=Toshiba Settles NAND Flash Patent Dispute With Lexar {{!}} InformationWeek |url=https://www.informationweek.com/it-leadership/toshiba-settles-nand-flash-patent-dispute-with-lexar |access-date=2025-04-07 |website=www.informationweek.com |language=en}}

Lexar was acquired by Micron Technology in 2006,{{Cite press release|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060621005878/en/Micron-Technology-Lexar-Media-Announce-Completion-Transaction|title=Micron Technology, Inc., and Lexar Media, Inc. Announce Completion of Transaction|date=21 June 2006|access-date=28 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309054201/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060621005878/en/Micron-Technology-Lexar-Media-Announce-Completion-Transaction|archive-date=March 9, 2017}} and subsequently merged with Crucial Technology under the name Lexar Media, a subsidiary of Micron. In September 2007, Lexar extended its agreement with Eastman Kodak Company to develop and market Kodak-branded flash memory products worldwide.{{cite web|title=Kodak and Lexar Announce New Extended Five-Year Agreement|date=4 September 2007|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20070904005281/en/Kodak-Lexar-Announce-Extended-Five-Year-Agreement|publisher=Business Wire|accessdate=10 November 2013}}

On June 26, 2017, Micron (the then-owner of the brand) announced it was to discontinue the Lexar retail removable media storage business and put part or all of the business up for sale.{{Cite web|url=https://www.micron.com/about/blogs/2017/june/micron-discontinuing-lexar-removable-storage-retail-business|title=Micron Technology, Inc. – Micron Discontinuing Lexar Removable Storage Retail Business|last=Hawkins|first=Jay|date=26 June 2017|website=Micron.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825023032/https://www.micron.com/about/blogs/2017/june/micron-discontinuing-lexar-removable-storage-retail-business|archive-date=25 August 2017|url-status=|access-date=24 August 2017}}

On August 31, 2017, the Lexar brand and trademark rights were acquired by Longsys, a flash memory company based in Shenzhen, China.{{cite web|url=http://www.longsys.com/longsys-acquires-lexar-brand-a-leading-brand-for-high-performance-removable-storage-solutions/|title=Longsys Acquires Lexar Brand, a Leading Brand for High-Performance Removable Storage Solutions|date=31 August 2017|website=Longsys.com|access-date=13 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901160044/http://www.longsys.com/longsys-acquires-lexar-brand-a-leading-brand-for-high-performance-removable-storage-solutions/|archive-date=1 September 2017|quote=Longsys [..] today announced that it has acquired the Lexar trademark and branding rights from Micron Technology, Inc.}}

In 2018, Lexar reentered the flash storage market.{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/8/17/17724060/lexar-flash-storage-return|title=Lexar's making a glorious return to the world of flash storage|first=Shoshana|last=Wodinsky|date=17 August 2018|website=The Verge|accessdate=27 April 2019}}

In January 2019, the company unveiled the first SD card with a storage capacity of 1 terabyte (TB).{{cite news |title=Lexar Announces 1TB 633x SDXC UHS-I card, the behemoth of storage capacity. |url=http://www.lexar.com/lexar-announces-1tb-633x-sdxc-uhs-i-card-the-behemoth-of-storage-capacity/ |date=9 January 2019 |work=Lexar |accessdate=10 January 2019 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030323/https://www.lexar.com/lexar-announces-1tb-633x-sdxc-uhs-i-card-the-behemoth-of-storage-capacity/ |url-status=dead }}

In December 2019, Lexar demonstrated a prototype 7.5 GB/s PCIe 4.0 SSD which is set to be the world's fastest consumer SSD.{{Cite web|url=https://blocksandfiles.com/2019/12/17/lexar-pcie-4-0-ssd/|title=Lexar demos world's fastest consumer SSD|last=Mellor|first=Chris|date=2019-12-17|website=Blocks and Files|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-02-21}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/lexar-is-testing-a-7gbs-pcie-ssd|title=Lexar Is Testing a 7GB/s PCIe SSD|website=PCMAG|date=30 December 2019 |language=en|access-date=2020-02-21}}

In April 2020, Lexar released its world's smallest memory card (nCARD) featuring Xtacking tech from Yangtze Memory Technology (YMTC).{{cite news |title=Longsys & Yangtze Memory Technologies Revealed the World's Smallest MicroSD Card |url=https://www.gadgetsay.com/longsys-electronics-yangtze-river-storage-revealed-the-worlds-smallest-microsd-card/ |date=21 April 2020 |work=Gadgetsay |accessdate=24 April 2020 }}

In June 2020, Lexar announced its entry to the DRAM market by unveiling seven different DDR4-2666 memory kits for mainstream laptops and desktops. Lexar also plans to release faster, 3000 MHz and 3200 MHz memory kits in the future, along with kits "with heatsinks and RGB lighting", targeting gamers and enthusiasts.{{cite news |title=Lexar launches its first-ever DRAM kits, promises faster RAM is coming |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/lexar-launches-its-first-ever-dram-kits-promises-faster-ram-is-coming/ |date=19 June 2020 |work=PC Gamer |accessdate=21 June 2020 }}

In 2021, Lexar released the world’s fastest CFexpress memory card, the Lexar® Professional CFexpress™ Type B Card DIAMOND Series, designed for professional filmmakers and content creators. https://americas.lexar.com/news/lexar-unveils-the-worlds-fastest-cfexpress-type-b-card-diamond-series/ Lexar also ranked third among the TrendForce 2022 Global Top 10 Module Makers for Channel Market SSDs.https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20231107-11910.html

In November 2021, Lexar entered the video games industry storage market with the ARES DDR5, its next-gen DDR5 gaming memory. https://americas.lexar.com/news/lexar-announces-new-lexar-ares-ddr5-desktop-memory/

In 2023, Lexar acquired the exclusive “Lexar Empowered By SK hynix” Gold Label certification through strategic cooperation with SK hynix. 2023 also brought Lexar top honors when it ranked third among the TrendForce 2023 Top 10 SSD Module Makers’ Self-Branded Retail Market Share.https://www.trendforce.com/presscenter/news/20241023-12338.html

In 2024, Lexar expanded its line of portable SSDs to enhance its offering with content creators. In January, Lexar began its sponsorship of League of Legends eSports team, BLG.https://news.tom.com/202401/4587919056.html

In June, Lexar launched the SL500 Portable SSD and expanded its Professional SILVER Card lineup with three new SD 3.0 memory cards, the SILVER PLUS microSDXC™ UHS-I Card, the SILVER PLUS SDXC™ UHS-I Card, and the Professional SILVER SDXC™ UHS-I Card.https://americas.lexar.com/news/lexar-expands-their-professional-silver-card-lineup-with-three-new-cards/ Also in June, Lexar introduced its ARMOR storage series with the ARMOR 700 Portable SSD, built for extreme outdoor environments https://americas.lexar.com/news/lexar-introduces-high-performance-rugged-armor-700-portable-ssd/ and secured seven wins in the prestigious Red Dot Design Awards.https://www.red-dot.org/zh/search?q=lexar&solr%5Bfilter%5D%5B%5D=year%3A2024

In July, Lexar successfully launched its first Kickstarter campaign for the Lexar Professional Go Portable SSD with Hub and raised over $1M in crowdfunding support.

In October, Lexar launched the pexar sub-brand, and introduced the 10.1-inch and 11-inch pexar digital picture frame.https://petapixel.com/2024/10/04/pexar-is-a-new-lexar-sub-brand-that-makes-digital-picture-frames/ In cooperation with DJI, Lexar also unveiled its storage solutions at the flagship DJI retail store on Regent Street in London.https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/lexar-showcases-cutting-edge-storage-solutions-at-flagship-store-of-dji-retail-on-regent-street-in-london-302316461.html

In December , Lexar introduced four CFexpress 4.0 memory cards, the Type-B Diamond 1TB, the Type-B GOLD 512GB-4TB, the Type-B Silver 1TB, and the Type-A Gold 1TB cards and a 6-bay docking station for professional creators. https://americas.lexar.com/news/lexar-introduces-professional-workflow-6-bay-docking-station-workflow-portable-ssd-workflow-reader-modules-and-three-cfexpress-4-0-cards/

In February 2025, Lexar released the world’s first stainless-steel SD card, the ARMOR GOLD SDXC™ UHS-II Card and ARMOR SILVER PRO SDXC™ UHS-II Card.https://www.lexar.com/global/news/Lexar-Announces-Worlds-First-Stainless-Steel-SD-Cards/?id=200000351 In February, the Lexar Go Portable SSD with Hub, and the Lexar Professional Workflow both won IFA Design Awards for 2025.https://americas.lexar.com/news/lexar-wins-if-design-awards-for-its-professional-workflow-dock-and-professional-go-portable-ssd-with-hub/

USB FlashCard is a flash memory card format developed by Lexar, and announced on December 13, 2004.[http://www.lexar.com/newsroom/press/press_12_13_04.html Lexar – Newsroom – Press Releases] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020111712/http://www.lexar.com/newsroom/press/press_12_13_04.html |date=October 20, 2006 }}

There is a wide range of existing memory card formats such as SD, xD, and CompactFlash; the major advantage of USB FlashCard is that the cards are in fact standard USB flash drives.[http://www.lexar.com/ufc/ Lexar – USB FlashCard] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060224062747/http://www.lexar.com/ufc/ |date=February 24, 2006 }} The USB FlashCard uses a modified USB Type A plug which keeps the total thickness of the card to under 4.5 mm. Because of its small size and USB compatibility, a USB FlashCard could, for example, be accessed by either a digital camera or a modern personal computer without the need for a card reader.

Lexar has published the specifications for its USB FlashCard form factor on its website in an open and royalty-free format, in the hopes that other memory card and portable device manufacturers will adopt it.

The specifications for the USB FlashCard published by Lexar show its dimensions to be 31.75 mm × 12 mm × 4.5 mm. The volume is comparable to the widely adopted SD cards (32 mm × 24 mm × 2.1 mm). The USB FlashCard has nearly the same length as the SD card, but is half as wide, and approximately twice as thick.

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Category:1996 establishments in California

Category:2006 mergers and acquisitions

Category:2017 mergers and acquisitions

Category:American companies established in 1996

Category:American subsidiaries of foreign companies

Category:Computer companies established in 1996

Category:Computer companies of the United States

Category:Computer hardware companies

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Category:Manufacturing companies based in San Jose, California

Category:Micron Technology

Category:Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area