eCost have the standard-speed units even cheaper. a generic card is $199 after rebate, or the sandisk is $219 (no rebate).

as for the transfer rates, i believe these so-called "16x" or "24x" ratings are relative to CD-ROM speeds (150kB/s). the 16x media are roughly double the speed of the standard compact flash cards, if i remember right.

--dan.