SanDisk Announces 1 GB SD Card

SanDisk has announced that it will release a 1 gigabyte SD card later this year. It will also release a 4 GB Compact Flash card and a 128 MB MMC card.

1 GB SD Card

With a gigabyte of space, consumers will be able to store up to 30 hours of digitally compressed music, more than 320 minutes of MPEG-4 compressed video, or more than 1000 high-resolution digital images.

It uses one gigabit NAND flash memory chips, based on patented multi-level cell (MLC) technology pioneered by SanDisk. MLC allows two bits of data to be stored in one memory cell, doubling memory capacity.

The 1 GB card will have a suggested retail price of $330 when it's available in the third quarter of this year. SanDisk also announced a 512 MB SD card that is expected to be available in the second quarter for $170.

Panasonic is expected to release a 1 GB SD card in the fourth quarter. No one is currently offering an SD card of this size.

4 GB CompactFlash Card

SanDisk's 4 GB CompactFlash card is Type I. It can hold more than four thousand high-resolution pictures, or more than one thousand digital songs, or even a full length DVD movie.

It has a suggested retail price of $1000 and is expected to start shipping this summer. The company also announced a 2 GB CompactFlash card that will sell for $500 when its available this May.

Lexar Media announced last week that it will start offering a 4 GB Type II CF card in the second quarter of this year for $1500. Its 2 GB Type I card will be available in March for $700.

256 MB MMC Card

SanDisk also announced a 256 MB MultiMedia Card targeted mainly for audio players and new multi-function cell phones, though it will fit in an device with an SD slot.

It has a suggested retail price of $75 and will start shipping to stores later this month.

Related Links

• Lexar Announces 4 GB CompactFlash Card
• SanDisk Introduces the miniSD Card