4 GB miniSDHC Flash Card from SanDisk

SanDisk has showcased a new 4 GB miniSD High Capacity (SDHC) flash card at the CTIA Wireless Show.

The 4GB SanDisk miniSDHC card is well suited for applications that require large storage capabilities and higher speeds, such as digital imaging, music and video recording and playback, mobile television and video games. The flashcard can store about 2000 high-resolution pictures, 1000 songs or 8 hours of video recording using MPEF 4 video 2 compression.

"The 4GB miniSDHC card represents a significant technological breakthrough and highlights the growing need for large-capacity, high-speed storage for the mobile phone market," said Yoram Cedar, executive vice president of handset business and corporate engineering at SanDisk. "SanDisk is responding to the next-generation demands of cell phone makers and users, who increasingly see their phone as their camera, video player, gaming and music devices."

The new card is a member of the SDHC family - the new name given to SD cards that are larger than 2 GB and are based on the SD Association 2.0 specifications. The new design is used to manufacture flash cards with capacities ranging from 4 GB to 32 GB. The 4GB SanDisk miniSDHC card is rated Class 2, meaning that a minimum data-transfer of 2 MB/s is guaranteed.

MiniSDHC cards are not compatible with miniSD cards, so manufacturers will need to upgrade the firmware found on the handsets in order to recognize the new miniSDHC cards. Currently, the product is being sampled to important phone producers for testing and is planned for release in 2007.