SanDisk to launch TrustedFlash at CTIA

SanDisk is preparing to launch a new flash-based storage device at next week's CTIA Wireless trade show in San Francisco, according to a partner of the company.

Click&Buy, a New York company that makes e-commerce software, sent out an advisory Wednesday saying it is an exclusive partner with SanDisk and will unveil its own secure mobile payment software for SanDisk's new Trusted Flash Card on Tuesday at 1 p.m.

If Trusted Flash is a name you've not heard before, don't worry. You will.

Apparently, Click&Buy's software lets consumers purchase songs stored on SanDisk's new solid-state memory device, which can then be plugged into mobile and portable devices.

SanDisk spokesman Mike Wong declined to comment about any information about Trusted Flash, but did say that CEO and president Eli Harari will hold a press conference on Tuesday at the wireless industry event.

According to Click&Buy's advisory, SanDisk will host its TrustedFlash launch event on Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. across the street from the CTIA event.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based SanDisk is well-versed in both flash-based storage as well as MP3 players, so a secure storage device for music players is not that far outside SanDisk's capabilities.

The company's Sansa e100 won't outsell the iPod family any time soon, but it does have something that even Steve Jobs' best music player doesn't have--the capacity to add as much as 2GB of storage through SanDisk's SD storage disks.

If SanDisk is securing payments and content with its own players and perchance Apple's competitors, the TrustedFlash launch could have the makings of a new disruptive technology.