Surprising, but also to be expected, was the introduction of the Sony SD, SDHC and microSD/SDHC memory cards. With the introduction of the new Sony CyberShot cameras, the specifications showed that besides supporting Sony's own Memory Stick, they also now support the SD platform. This is a logical choice, seeing that almost all manufacturers made this step years ago, or in the case of Olympus, who made it recently. What the consequences will be in the long run for the Memory Stick is yet to be seen, but we expect that this is the first step in the complete conversion to the SD/SDHC and undoubtedly the SDXC flash memory cards in the coming year or two.

Last year, the specifications of a new generation of Secure Digital flash (SD) memory cards were made public. And these were, to put it lightly, impressive. With SD as base and SDHC (SD High Capacity) for higher storage capacities of a maximum of 32GB, a heavy specification requirement was set for every new type of card that would take over after SDHC. However, anyone taking a look at the SDXH (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) roadmap, and sees a storage capacity of 2TB and a bus interface speed of 104MB/sec to 300MB/sec in a later phase, will soon be convinced. Panasonic starts off this year with the introduction of the first 48GB and 64GB SDXC memory cards.

Toshiba announced the launch of the 64GB SDXC memory card capable of operating at the world's fastest data transfer rate for reading and writing to a flash memory card. The new Toshiba SDXC memory card is compliant with the new SD Memory Standard, Ver. 3.00, UHS104. Toshiba also extended its leadership in memory card solutions by unveiling 32GB and 16GB SDHC memory cards compliant with the world's fastest data transfer rate.

SanDisk Corporation announced the SanDisk Netbook SDHC removable flash memory card, offering consumers an easy and affordable way to significantly increase their netbooks’ storage capacity. Consumers simply insert the SanDisk Netbook SDHC card into a netbook’s card slot to add capacity instantly. This news expands upon the previously announced next-generation SanDisk pSSD product family, which serve as drop-in replacements for hard disk drives (HDDs) in netbooks.

At the 2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress, we spoke to Akihiro Kasahara, Senior Fellow Business Development Office Corporate Research & Development Center of Toshiba, about the new memory card which is expected this year; the SDXC. During the CES show at the beginning of this year, the specifications of the new platform based on Secure Digital (SD) were released. Current SD memory cards have a maximum storage capacity of 2GB, followed by the SDHC cards which start from 4GB up to a maximum capacity of 32GB.

Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) has developed the first mobile security card offering contactless smart-card security in addition to the usual data storage functions. The new security feature is provided by a cryptography controller with an NFC-compatible interface integrated in the microSD card along with the flash memory. The Mobile Security Card CL thus serves as an ideal basis for implementing security and payment functions in cell phones and for many other mobile applications. This innovation from G&D addresses the needs of digital identity solution providers.

SanDisk announced a 2 Gigabyte 2 Rock Band 2 SD gaming card, significantly increasing the storage capacity available to gamers using the Nintendo Wii console. This memory boost enables users to conveniently store additional content without worrying about running out of space. The SanDisk 2GB Rock Band 2 SD gaming card is expected to be available for U.S. retailers this Spring, and carries a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $12.99.

SanDisk, a global leader in flash memory products, announced at the CES 2009 in Las Vegas that it will be shipping its 16 gigabyte (GB) SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro (M2) mobile memory cards - the world’s largest removable flash storage capacity for cell phones - in January 2009. This increased memory capacity, coupled with the high performance of the SanDisk Mobile Ultra flash memory line, allows consumers to further take advantage of the many storage-intensive features offered by today’s multimedia cell phones such as music playback, digital photo and video camera functions, gaming and GPS applications.

The next-generation SDXC (eXtended Capacity) memory card specification, announced today at the 2009 International CES, dramatically improves consumers' digital lifestyles by providing the portable storage and speed needed to store weeks of high-definition video, years of photo collections and months of music to mobile phones, cameras and camcorders, and other consumer electronic devices. The new SDXC specification provides up to 2 terabytes storage capacity and accelerates SD interface read/write speeds to 104 megabytes per second this year, with a road map to 300 megabytes per second. SDXC will enable camcorders to provide longer, professional level HD video recording with a small form factor.

Additional enhancements to SDHC memory card lineup include ultrafast, Class 6 SDHC cards in 8GB and 16GB capacities. Toshiba, a leading innovator in flash memory card technologies and solutions introduced a new memory card line-up with the launch of a 16GB microSDHC card offering the largest capacity available in the market. At the same time, the company extended its range of industry-leading memory card solutions by adding ultra fast read/write 8GB and 16GB SDHC cards to its line-up. Mass production of the new Toshiba SDHC memory cards will start in December, with production of the new Toshiba micro SDHC slated to start in January 2009.