SanDisk takes SDHC memory card to 32GB
Flash card sizes continue to grow, and SanDisk has moved another rung up the ladder with its $350 32GB SDHC card, which will ship in April.
- Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
Correction 10:00 a.m. PST: This blog initially misstated the speed at which SanDisk's top-end Extreme Ducati cards can write data. It is 45MB/sec.
LAS VEGAS--SanDisk, one of the best known makers of flash memory cards, has started making the jump to 32GB capacity.
The company announced its 32GB Ultra II SDHC card Thursday at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here, a model designed with the needs of flash-based video cameras.
It will cost about $350 when it goes on sale in April, the company said. A $180 16GB Ultra II card will be available in March, and both come with a MicroMate USB card reader.
In addition, SanDisk announced a $100 8GB Ultra II Plus card. It hinges open to reveal a USB plug that lets the card be directly connected to a computer.
All the new cards can write data at 15 MB/sec, a notch up from the 9 or 10 MB/sec of earlier Ultra II models, SanDisk said. However, that's not as fast as CompactFlash models, where SanDisk's top-end Extreme Ducati cards reach 45MB/sec.
SanDisk spokesman Ken Castle wouldn't comment on when the company's 32GB CompactFlash cards might reach the market. Competitors PNY and Transcend announced their 32GB CompactFlash cards in January.
"We've chosen to go with the SD first. That's where the momentum has been," Castle said. "Camcorders with HD (high-definition video) can eat memory pretty quickly."
SanDisk in 2007 sued 25 flash-card competitors, including Transcend and PNY, alleging patent infringement.