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.

SanDisk, a global leader in flash memory products, announced it is bringing to market its 16GB microSDHC and 16GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) mobile memory cards - the world’s largest removable storage capacity for mobile phones. Best Buy Mobile and Verizon Wireless stores are the first major retail outlets in the United States to carry the SanDisk 16GB mobile phone memory cards.

Kingston Technology Company announced the addition of 8GB microSD High Capacity (SDHC) Flash memory cards to its mobile memory storage line. Shipping immediately, the new Kingston 8GB microSDHC cards offer greater storage options to the latest mobile phones and digital devices in the smallest footprint available. Kingston 8GB microSDHC flash memory cards can store more than 1,500 digital songsa, more than 4,000 images from a 5 Megapixel camera phone, or up to eight hours of videoc, greatly surpassing storage limits on mobile phones without Flash memory card slots.

With the launch of its first 8GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card, Sony RME (Recording Media & Energy) has pushed up the current 4GB maximum capacity by 100%. To put this in context, upgrading a Sony Ericsson mobile phone with the new 8 GB M2 memory card will give customers a choice of over 5,000 fine quality 5 megapixel photos, over 2000 MP3 songs (4min per song at 128kbps), or over 88 hours of high quality MPEG 4 video (at 192kbps).