Sandisk 8GB SDHC Flash Card

SanDisk introduced an 8-gigabyte SD High Capacity (SDHC) card—the highest capacity now available in the SD format. The new 8GB SDHC card holds more than 4,000 high-resolution pictures, as many as 2,000 digital songs or up to 15 hours of MPEG 4 video. The 8GB SDHC card will come bundled with a SanDisk MicroMate USB 2.0 reader free of charge. SDHC cards require an SDHC-compatible reader, so providing the USB-based SDHC reader with the card ensures that users will be able to connect the 8GB card to their computers. The MicroMate reader also works with standard SD cards. 8GB of storage packs a pretty mean memory density "punch" for a memory device thinner than a Saltine cracker and about the size of a quarter.

As SD cards get larger memory storage they will not only be used in mobile phones, but they will perhaps replace hard drives in MP3 players, such as the Apple iPod. Of course, the first MP3 players to market used Flash memory cards before the Apple iPod even existed. I had a Creative Labs Nomad II with 64MB of Flash RAM. However, the iPod, a hard drive-based mp3 player, took off and smaller Flash-based storage MP3 players took a backseat. Now with larger 8GB cards available, the advantage is starting to lean back towards Flash memory MP3 players. Why do you ask? Power. Hard disk drives suck power faster than a Dyson vacuum cleaner! SD cards are much more power efficient, so you can listen to your music player much longer before recharging.

The SD High Capacity or SDHC card format was originally developed by SanDisk, Matsushita, and Toshiba for use in portable devices. SDHC is the new designation for cards in any SD format larger than 2GB that adhere to the new SD 2.0 specification. Previous specifications for SD cards limited capacity to 2GB, while SDHC supports capacities up to 32GB. The specification was developed by the SD Association, an industry standards organization, which also defined three classes for speed and performance capabilities. The 8GB SDHC card adheres to the SD Speed Class 2 rating, which guarantees a minimum data-transfer rate of 2MB/sec.

“As consumers add more digital entertainment and memories to their lives -- especially when they start shooting video with a digital still camera or digital camcorder -- they need more storage capacity in flash memory cards,’’ said Susan Park, retail product marketing manager at SanDisk. “The new 8GB SDHC delivers twice the capacity of what was previously our biggest SD card -- the 4GB SDHC -- introduced just eight months ago.”

The 8GB SDHC card with MicroMate USB 2.0 reader will be available in April in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The bundle will be available in Japan and elsewhere in Asia later in the second quarter. In the United States, the bundle will carry a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $189.99.