If you’ve never heard of Applied Micro Circuits Corporation, the slogan of which is “Connecting the Technology that Connects Us All”, then the small gadget that the company showed off at Sneak Peek at PMA may not do much to turn the semiconductor company into a household brand, but AMCC, unlike many component manufacturers that create “reference designs” that OEMs may or may not pick up, is giving it a go.
The device, which doesn’t have a name and for which no photos are yet available, is due to ship by this holiday season. It’s a small battery-powered SD card reader that connects to Wi-Fi. I think of it either as a poor man’s Novatel Wireless MiFi or as an external Eye-if card. AMCC sees the device being used by cell phone users who want to send photos to a photofinisher It will be sold with the retailer’s photo service as the default service provider but consumes will be able to choose their own.