e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

[sricket]

SanDisk Introduces 1GB SD and Mini SD Format

http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=5118

Posted By: Ryan on Friday, March 14, 2003 9:52:28 AM
SanDisk has announced that 512MB and 1 GB SD cards will be available this year at a press conference at CeBit. SanDisk has also debuted 2 and 4 Gigabyte CompactFlash cards and a new MiniSD format. MiniSD was recently adopted by the SD card association as an ultra-small form factor SD card.

The 512MB and 1GB SanDisk SD cards use 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.

SanDisk is currently shipping 16, 32, 64, 128, and 256MB SD cards. The 512MB and 1GB SanDisk SD cards have suggested retail prices of $169.99 and $329.99 respectively. The 512MB SD card is expected to be available in the second quarter while the 1GB SD card is expected to be available in the third quarter.

2 and 4 GB CompactFlash
For HandEra and other CF device users, SanDisk has also announced 2 & 4 Gigabyte CompactFlash Cards. The cards work with any device with a CF Type 1 slot. The 4GB CompactFlash card has a suggested retail price of $999.99 and is expected to start shipping this summer. The 2GB CF card has a suggested retail price of $499.99 and is also expected to start shipping this summer.

MiniSD Format
In addition, SanDisk has introduced the SanDisk miniSD card, a new thumbnail-sized flash memory card that is designed to meet the needs of the mobile phone market for greater storage capacity in the smallest possible physical form factor. The miniSD card was recently adopted by the SD Association as an ultra-small form factor extension to the SD card standard. While initially targeted for mobile phone devices, the format may eventually make it's way into handhelds.

The miniSD card offers significant savings in card area and volume, two critical design parameters for the new generation of increasingly miniaturized mobile phones. Compared to standard SD cards, the miniSD card saves more than 40% of the printed circuit board area and more than 60% of the volume required to support the card in a portable device. SanDisk will offer a wide range of memory capacities in the new format, with 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256 megabytes (MB) expected to ship in March 2003.

A key benefit of the miniSD card is that it is both electrically and software compatible with the existing SD standard. It uses the same SD interface, including security features for content protection (CPRM -- Content Protection Rights Management) as the standard SD card. To allow interoperability with standard SD devices, SanDisk will also offer an adapter that converts the miniSD card into the SD card form factor. The adapter allows the miniSD card to fit into existing SD card slots, and thereby provide compatibility with the rapidly growing number of SD compatible devices in the market.

The miniSD card is 21.5 millimeters (mm) long, 20 mm wide and 1.4 mm thick, and occupies a footprint of 430 square mm and volume of 602 cubic mm. The new format was developed by the three original developers of the SD card, Toshiba, Matsushita and SanDisk, and recently adopted by the SD Association, an organization consisting of more than 500 member companies.

In order to reach the broadest set of devices for the miniSD, the SanDisk-branded miniSD cards will be packaged with a full-sized SD adapter. Suggested retail pricing for the miniSD plus SD adapter will be US $29 for the 32MB card, which is approximately the same price of an SD card of the same capacity. Prices on higher capacities have not been set.