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SanDisk goes conservative with first SDXC card

While some people are clamoring for higher-capacity SD cards, few need--or want to pay for--the extra video-recording speed. Panasonic, for example, will be issuing its first 64GB SDXC as a Class 10, 22-megabyte-per-second version card for almost $600; however, SanDisk announced its first 64GB card at a slower Class 4, 15MBps for the more attractive price of $349.99.

True, only products announced since January--and only some of those--support the new SDXC standard, but even in a lot of the newer cameras and camcorders, Class 4 is sufficient for video recording. However, that 15MBps speed might slow you down when … Read more

MP3 players with memory expansion

In the beginning, MP3 players relied heavily on memory-card expansion slots, because built-in memory was painfully scarce. My, how the times have changed. Nowadays, internal flash chips offer up to 64GB of storage, and memory-card expansion slots--which almost exclusively take some form of SD media--are merely offered as an extra feature.

Luckily, there's a decent array of MP3 players currently on the market offering this extra, so if you're keen on the option of adding more space on a whim--or you just want to use memory cards a la MiniDiscs, swapping them in at intervals--you have plenty of … Read more

MP3 Insider Podcast 165: Ears for music

Donald and Jasmine discuss potential issues with the Android-based Archos 5...namely, why does the sucker keep crashing on everyone? Also, a look at the freshly posted reviews for the Monster Turbine Pro and JayBird Tiger Eyes earphones, as well as the old-school appealing Altec Lansing inMotion Classic. Finally, big ups to SanDisk for its straightforward approach to an audio issue with the Clip.

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SanDisk ships 'X4' flash chips

SanDisk said Monday that it is shipping memory chips that will allow consumers to store more data on tiny Secure Digital flash cards.

The Milpitas, Calif., company's X4 technology packs four bits of data into each memory cell. To date, flash memory chipmakers typically stored one bit or two bits per cell. Each individual die--or chip--holds 64 gigabits of data, or 8 gigabytes. This is the highest capacity per die in the industry, according to SanDisk.

The technology is not yet shipping in cutting-edge retail products, however: it is currently being used in 8GB and 16GB SDHC (Secure Digital … Read more

SanDisk on Sansa: Value is our top priority

I've gotta hand it to SanDisk. The company doesn't shy away from honesty. Recently, a handful of Sansa Clip users reactivated a forum topic having to do with apparent pitch issues on the device whereby music plays back ever-so-slightly slower than normal. The concern was that the problem may have carried over to the new Clip+. (Incidentally, based on my testing, it hasn't. If anything, it plays tracks a fraction faster when stacked up against my sound card and Sony Walkman.)

The interesting part, however, is not the existence of some exceptionally discerning listeners--neither CNET testers nor … Read more

SanDisk 90MB/sec CompactFlash: more speed than you need?

Despite its being out of vogue at the moment, I'm still a big believer in the faster-is-better philosophy. That said, I also recognize that it's not always worth the extra cost for some people, and that not everyone can or will always take advantage of it. So that's why I always take announcements about new, high-performance media cards, like SanDisk's 90 megabyte-per-second Extreme Pro line (along with Transcend's similar 600X CF), with a grain of salt. And after running some casual tests on the new card, I've concluded that for now, even only a … Read more

Current-generation Zunes going bye-bye

As first reported by Paul Thurott of SuperSite for Windows, Microsoft is discontinuing the current generation of Zunes.

Leaving aside all the easy insults--yes, we all know Microsoft never sold many of the things--and the possibility that your candy-apple red Zune 80 may someday be a collector's item, this means Microsoft has basically ceded the low end of the MP3 player market.

While the current Zunes start at $80, the Zune HD, which becomes available on September 15, will run you at least $220. This is great news for competitors such as SanDisk, whose Sansa Clip+ suddenly looks like … Read more

MP3 Insider 159: The simply superb Sansa Clip+

Once again, Donald and Jasmine promise a "short one" and fail to deliver. How is it that just us talking about two devices manage to stretch on for the standard 30 minutes? We'll tell you: one of them inspires a lovefest that's saccharine enough to make your teeth throb, while the other throws Jasmine into a tizzy dripping with disappointment. This discussion on two new players--the Sansa Clip+ and the S-Series Walkman--is not to be missed. Also, the MP3 Insiders touch once again on the possibility of subscription music on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

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