The Transcend 64GB microSDXC Ultra-High Speed Class 1 memory card offers high transfer rates that go up to 45MB per second, giving users very high performance for demanding tasks. The memory card is being marketed towards smartphone and tablet owners, but is also applicable to other devices with support for microSDXC cards with this high of a capacity.

This card is boasted as offering data transfer speeds that 300 times faster than its non-Ultra High Speed equivalents, making it a good choice for those who watch, process, or record high-definition video, such as those utilizing the 1080p camera on their smartphone. It is also a good option for use with apps that are memory-intensive.

To help put the 64GB in perspective, this tiny microSD can hold approximately 10,000 high-res JPEG photographs taken at 12-megapixels with an average size of 6MB each. Or, for those who spend more time recording video than they do taking pictures, this newest Transcend card can hold 16 hours of video recorded at full 9Mbps 1920 x 1080 H.264 video. The card is available now for $109.

[via Transcend Info]

Toshiba says the product on display is under development and integrates wireless transfer technology called TransferJet. The memory card has an internal TransferJet transceiver IC, a coupler, RF filter, peripheral passive parts, a SD bridge connection circuit, and Toshiba NAND flash memory.

The memory card will have the ability to transfer data from the memory card directly to supported devices such as digital cameras and computers. TransferJet technology is a close proximity wireless transfer technology standard. Toshiba is part of the TransferJet Consortium, which includes 44 other companies.

The transfer technology provides simple connections between devices allowing high-speed data transfer with low power consumption. The technology allows users to select a file on the screen of a device to be transferred. Then the transferring device touches the supported receiving device and the data transfer takes place.

The 16GB Eye-Fi Pro X2 is the company’s new flagship offering and boasts a Class 10 rating that offers the same geotagging features and cloud service that’s provided with all of their other products. The new card will allow you to wirelessly connect your camera to your mobile device, or utilize a WiFi network to move images directly to your computer.

CEO and co-founder of Eye-Fi Yuval Koren says, “Cameras have more megapixels, and pictures and videos are more demanding in terms of size. Moving to a 16GB, Class 10 card keeps up with these trends and delivers what our customers have been asking for.” With megapixels of point-and-shoot cameras reaching into the teens, even regular consumers need more storage space for their photos, and Eye-Fi is looking to deliver on that.

The 16GB model will cost $100 and is currently available for pre-order from Amazon. The new memory card will also see launches in Australia and Japan soon, with a price tag of $108 AUD and ¥9980, respectively. The company also cut the price of their 8GB Pro X2 and Mobile X2 by $20, now priced at $80 and $60, respectively.

The cards are available in 64 GB and 128 GB capacities and use the exFAT file system. That file system is designed to handle large amounts of data and files larger than 4 GB. The Class 10 rating promises a minimal sustained transfer rate of at least 10 MB/s. That means that the memory cards should be fast enough for most needs.

Kingston says that all of its memory cards are tested and are backed by a lifetime warranty along with free live technical support. The memory card is designed to be secure with integrated write protection switch to prevent accidental data loss. As with all SDXC memory cards, the Kingston products aren’t compatible with all devices.

The memory cards are the same size as standard SD and SDHC memory cards. They’re designed to operate in a temperature range of -13°F to 185°F and require 3.3 V. The 64 GB card will sell for $80, and the 128 GB card will sell for $182. Kingston also points out that these cards are aimed at HD video recording but don’t support some simultaneous video and still photo capture features.

It also means a big boost to photographers looking to shoot multiple frames at speed, without hitting a data transfer wall. Sony claims it slotted one of the cards into a Nikon D4 and managed a whopping 108 shots in ten seconds.

Sony doesn’t make any specific claims about what sort of bitrate video you can capture to the S-Series cards, but with 168 MB/s to play with there should be no problem filling it up with high-def footage. You’ll probably need a Thunderbolt card reader to make the most of the transfer rates copying footage back to your PC, the company says.

The new Sony XQD S-Series will go on sale July 11 in Japan, priced at around 60,000 yen ($754) for the 64GB model and 40,000 yen ($503) for the 32GB model. Expensive stuff, but speed costs money.

Sony reckons that’s down to its H Series’ cards “unique controller and optimized flash memory” though isn’t saying much more than that. What we do get is a new USB 2.0/3.0 Sony MRW-E80 XQD card reader and a QDA-EX1 XQD ExpressCard Adapter for your ExpressCard 34 slot, to help you get your images and footage off the card.

The 16GB Sony QD-H16 card will be priced at $129.99, while the 32GB QD-H32 will be $229.99. The MRW-E80 USB card reader will be $44.99, as will the QDA-EX1 ExpressCard Adapter. All four will arrive in February, just in time to accompany the Nikon D4.

Although even certain high-end cameras can’t match the 1000x data transfer speeds, it will help with shooting bursts of photos as well as for transferring images to your computer, especially with high-speed ports such as USB 3.0. This can help accelerate your workflow.

The cards support the Video Performance Guarantee (VPG-20) specification for professional quality videos at high frame rates without dropped frames. This enables capturing and storing 1080p Full HD videos and 3D videos as well.

The cards come in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities and are priced at $169.99, $299.99, $529.99, and $899.99, respectively. They will be available in February.

[via CNET]

However, the card will only work in smartphones and tablets that offer a microSDXC card slot, so you might want to check your device before you get too excited. Many phones only support the microSDHC standard, which maxes out at 32GB. It’s amazing to think that the new microSDXC standard will eventually support capacities of up to 2TB all on a tiny card about the size of dime.

The SanDisk Mobile Ultra will be available in a range of capacities from 4GB to 64GB with a starting price of $24.99. But the 64GB whopper will cost a hefty $219.99. And luckily, the new cards come in a bright red and gray color combination, instead of the usual black, so that they’ll be less easy to lose. For more details, visit the SanDisk product page.

But before you jump on that claim, pointing to the Eye-Fi as a pre-existing WiFi-enabled SD card, the FlashAir works a bit differently. Whereas the Eye-Fi could only transmit files from a camera directly to a computer or smartphone, the FlashAir can do the same but also receive and transfer peer-to-peer.

The FlashAir lets users transfer photos and other data to and from computers and smartphones over WiFi, but also can transfer wirelessly to and from other digital cameras that are FlashAir compliant. The 8GB Class 6 card will be sampled starting November but will not begin sales until February 2012. Also, no pricing information has been announced yet.

The card will be shown off during IFA 2011, where there’s been a deluge of exciting announcements this morning, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, the Galaxy Note, and the Toshiba AT200. More cool gadgets are sure to come throughout this week so stay tuned here on SlashGear as we’re in Berlin covering the event from September 2-7.

That’s fast. That’s really really fast. But get this: the card costs $540. You know how many cards you could get for that much that aren’t quite as fast? It doesn’t matter! This is the fastest! What Delkin has here is a card that you’re going to want to be using for HD video, 3D video, and all sorts of other high-speed-required sort of situations. That said, I’m gonna need one for the San Diego Comic Con, so fork one over!

On this card you’ll be able to collect more than 17,000 photos and 8 hours of HD video, but only in SDXC enabled cameras. This is no average card, ladies and gentlemen, and with the cutting edge of storage technology comes the need for advanced devices to use it. Isn’t it ironic? Almost as if it’s more important to have the greatest way to store your photos than it is to collect them. Sort of like how it’s alright to grab that cash anyway you can just so long as you put it in the right bank, right?

Along those same lines is the Delkin guarantee, that being that with this and all Deklin memory cards, the company’s US based technical support staff is available to offer free data recovery services and support for the lifetime of the product. Word!

A company called Kingmax has unveiled a new microSD card that has a whopping 64GB of storage. It’s hard to imagine that much storage in such a small amount of space. The 64GB card is also a speed class 6 storage card making it fast for storing and transferring data. The 64GB capacity in a microSD card is a world’s first. The memory card also has integrated ECC to detect and reconstruct lost data during transmission.

The card also uses a wear leveling algorithm to allocate information to different sections of the card. The microSD card also complies with the latest SD 3.0 specifications. It has an energy efficient design to extend the battery life of the device it is inside of. There is no word on pricing and availability at this time. As with all high capacity memory cards this 64GB Kingmax microSD card will probably be very expensive when it launches.

And what do you know, the little deal pops up and has the ability to be popped down for protection of the slots whilst not in use. I think I’m gonna need one of these – for real! Oh and look, we’ve got a fellow named Jeff Cable (Lexar’s Director of Marketing) explaining why you’ve gotta gotta have it. Watch as he pops it up and pops it down and so forth forever and ever. Also notice his fashionable embroidered polo shirt:

Have a look below at the full press release or go back to the following post for more info on the biggest: “Lexar Introduces Industry’s First 128GB Pro SDXC Memory Card” and the last time we reported on one of their lovely card readers: “ Lexar 24-in-1 USB memory card reader plays nice with iPad [Video] ” as well as a review of their SDHC Flash Memory Performance on Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. Can you dig it?

New Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader Dramatically Accelerates Digital Workflow

Fremont, CA, May 19, 2011 – Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the new Lexar® Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, a high-performance card reader that enables professional and advanced amateur photographers and videographers to maximize their workflow with blazing-fast transfer speeds. The reader leverages SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) technology to deliver high-speed performance that supports the latest CompactFlash® (CF) UDMA, Secure Digital Extended Capacity™ (SDXC)**, and SD Ultra High Speed-I (UHS-I) memory cards. The versatile reader is also backwards compatible with standard CF, SD™, and Secure Digital High Capacity™ (SDHC) memory cards and USB 2.0 host devices. For additional information about the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, visit www.lexar.com.

“USB is the most popular connectivity option for PCs, and it’s critical that professional photographers and videographers have convenient and versatile tools to maximize their workflow and fully leverage the performance of their high-speed memory cards,” said Manisha Sharma, director of product marketing for cards, Lexar Media. “The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader combines extremely fast performance with a versatile, innovative design to provide pro and hobbyist shooters with a reader that dramatically reduces image transfer time. The speed offered by the reader enables users to move large volumes of high-resolution images and HD video faster than ever, allowing them to spend less time at the PC and more time on other activities.”

The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader features the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface, which operates at 500MB per second; while the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface operates at 60MB per second*. The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader takes advantage of the performance of high-speed cards. Real-world tests prove that today’s high-performance cards can be read more than six times faster with the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader than with previous generation USB 2.0 card readers, and future high-performance cards are likely to enable an even faster data transfer experience. The reader can transfer content from both SD and CF cards simultaneously, and allows for easy file transfer from one card to another. The USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader also features an innovative, pop-up mechanism that lets users close the reader when not in use, protecting it from dirt and debris. Its compact, portable design means users can take it on the go, and its smooth contours help it slip easily in and out of a photo bag or briefcase.

The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader provides consumers with the quality and reliability they have come to expect from Lexar Media. All Lexar product designs are tested in the Lexar Quality Labs, a group of facilities where all Lexar product designs undergo extensive testing to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability with more than 800 intended digital devices.

The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader comes with free, dedicated customer support and a five-year limited warranty. The reader is available now for purchase on www.lexar.com, and will be available from leading photo retailers in June, with an MSRP of $49.99.

That saves time and makes for easier control over pictures, handy if you’re the sort of person who takes plenty of shots straight away and then wants to choose the best of them. To do it, the Eye-Fi card can create its own “soft Access Point” to which the app connects to; alternatively, if both card and gadget are on the same wireless network, it will use that instead.

You’ll need an Android device running 2.1 Eclair or higher, or an iOS device running 4.0 or higher, in order to use the system. There’s more on Direct Mode in Eye-Fi’s FAQ on the topic.

Video demo after the cut

As with the SD card reader Apple offers, the CF adapter plugs straight into the iPad 2 (and, indeed the original iPad) dock connector. You can then import directly from the memory card onto the iPad’s storage, and from there import photos and video clips into iMovie for iPad. There’s also a USB port for hooking up cameras via a cable.

The adapter is a terribly reasonable $29.90, and will begin shipping from April 25. More details in the video below, though be warned it doesn’t support the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

iMovie for iPad 2 media side-loading demo:

[youtube QTc6IJy_vNU]

[via Engadget]

The new card has 16GB of storage space and Kingston notes that in Q2 it will add an even larger 32GB microSDHC card to its line. Both of the cards have Class 10 speeds with 10MB/s. The card ships with an adapter that allows it to be used as a SDHC card. It uses the Fat32 file format and has a lifetime warranty.

The 16GB Class 10 card and SD adapter sell for $139. The Class 10 16GB microSD card without the adapter is $138. The 8GB version is $38 and the 4GB is $23, both with the SD card adapter.

The Lexar Professional 133x SDXC memory cards will be perfect for capturing extended lengths of 1080p HD video and for shooting continuous rapid-fire images. The 133x rating means that the cards guarantee a minimum transfer speed of 20MB per second, which will significantly accelerate workflows when transferring images and HD videos from memory card to computer via a SDXC-enabled card reader.

These SDXC memory cards also include the latest version of the Image Rescue software to help recover lost or deleted photo and video files. Both the 64GB and 128GB versions are available now for $199.99 and $329.99 respectively at B&H Photo and Video, Adorama Camera, and on Lexar.com. We here at SlashGear will be getting our hands on the 64GB card at CTIA later this month, so make sure to check back for our extensive review.

The new card offers 64GB of storage with 600x speed making it good for transfer and read speeds of up to 90MB/s. The card will work with any camera that has a CF slot integrated and supports PIO mode6, MWDMA4, and UDMA6.

The card will also support 8-bit or 16-bit host data transfers and has integrated ECC. The 600x card range has been around for a while from Silicon Power and the new version ups the available storage capacity. The cards can be had in 8GB up to the new 64GB card now. Pricing is unannounced at this time.

The 32GB of storage space is enough room to pack in 9000 photos, 500 minutes of HD video, or 6000 songs. The card is speed class 4 and meets 2.0 specifications. The speed class is a bit slow compared to some memory cards on the market, which might mean longer waits if you shoot lots of high-resolution still shots in a burst.

The card has mechanical write protection switch and has security that supports Secure Digital Music Initiative. Pricing and availability on the new memory card is unannounced at this time.

The company also reckons it’ll last longer, too, thanks to a proprietary Power Core Controller which distributes data across the flash memory. There’s also UHS Speed Class 1 video support, promising the 10MB/sec minimum sustained write speeds necessary for recording HD 1080p videos or 3D content.

Water, temperature, shock, vibration, x-ray and magnet proof, the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I card will come in 8GB to 32GB capacities. It’s available now, priced between $109.99 and $349.99.

Press Release:

SanDisk Announces SDHC Card Featuring UHS-I Technology—Ideal for Capturing High-Resolution Photos and Full HD Videos

SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC UHS-I Card Offers Photography Enthusiasts the Performance, Reliability and Durability They Need to Shoot Like the Pros

MILPITAS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today introduced the SanDisk Extreme® Pro™ SDHC™ UHS-I card. The card features Ultra High Speed (UHS) technology from the newly released SD 3.0 specification and achieves up to 45MB/sec* read and write performance with long-term reliability by distributing data rapidly and efficiently using SanDisk’s proprietary Power Core™ Controller.

“SanDisk has a long history of developing fast, highly reliable cards for photography enthusiasts and professionals,” said Susan Park, director, retail product marketing, SanDisk. “Our new SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC card lets consumers take their skills to the next level by capturing high-resolution still images, fast-moving action shots and HD videos of the highest quality.”

Designed for the latest cameras

As DSLRs offer increasingly sophisticated features such as high megapixel continuous burst shooting and high-definition (HD) video capture, photographers need advanced memory cards capable of unlocking their cameras’ full potential. The card achieves high performance and efficient power consumption in UHS-enabled cameras such as the Nikon D7000.

Performance

The SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC card’s write speed of up to 45 MB/sec delivers improved shot to shot performance of RAW images using continuous burst mode. The card also adheres to the new UHS Speed Class 1 video class rating, offering 10MB/sec* minimum sustained write speed capable of recording HD 1080p videos or even 3D content**. In addition, the card’s fast read speeds of up to 45 MB/sec let users avoid lengthy wait times when transferring content from the card to a computer.

SanDisk develops its flash controllers and memory chips together, allowing the company to perfectly match and fine-tune the two technologies throughout the testing process. The SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC card uses an intelligent Power Core controller to achieve its speed. The controller’s data prediction and binary caching features allow for improved overall performance.

Reliability

Featuring an automatic error-code correction (ECC) engine, the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC card offers long-term reliability that comes from the brand trusted by professional photographers. Advanced wear leveling extends card endurance by distributing data evenly throughout the card. For added protection, the card includes one year of RescuePRO® media recovery software, which lets photographers recover their images in case of accidental deletion.

Durability

Designed to withstand the most extreme conditions, the new card offers photographers peace of mind knowing that their photos are stored on one of the most rugged cards in the world. Able to withstand punishment, the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC card is water proof, temperature proof, shock and vibration proof, x-ray and magnet proof***. The card is backed by a lifetime limited warranty.****

Availability and Pricing

The card is shipping to major retailers worldwide and is available immediately at www.sandisk.com. The card comes in 8GB1 to 32GB capacities carrying suggested retail prices ranging from $109.99 to $349.99.

The SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-I SDHC card is fully compatible with any camera, card reader or other device that supports SDHC cards. The SanDisk Extreme Pro ExpressCard™ Adapter, designed for high performance SDHC and SDXC UHS-I cards, is available at www.sandisk.com for $49.99.

The 32GB Class 10 microSDHC is available now, though you’ll need deep pockets: it’s retailing at $149.99.

Press Release:

Lexar Media Introduces the 32GB Class 10 High-Speed Mobile microSDHC Card for Mobile Phones

Class 10 microSDHC Performance Kit Enhances the Mobile Lifestyle with Blazing Fast Transfer Speeds

Key Messages:

Class 10 32GB microSDHC™ card with performance kit only one of its kind available today
Class 10 speed rating offers fast load and transfer of mobile content
Large capacity enables users to capture more valuable content on the move, including HD videos, photos, and music
Media management software and USB reader allow users to easily manage, transfer, and archive media files, as well as sync content between a mobile phone and PC or Mac® system

Las Vegas, NV, January 5, 2011 – Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today introduced the 32GB Class 10 Lexar® High-Speed Mobile microSDHC card. The 32GB Class 10 microSDHC card guarantees a minimum sustained write speed of 10MB per second and a read speed up to 20MB per second1, allowing users to quickly load files onto the card and transfer them between mobile phone and computer, and maximize their on-the-go mobile lifestyles. The 32GB Lexar High-Speed Mobile microSDHC card is part of a performance kit that includes a USB reader and mediamoveTM for Lexar Media sideload software for easy and quick file management. For additional information about the 32GB Lexar High-Speed Mobile microSDHC card, visit www.lexar.com.

“We’ve seen a steady rise in the sophistication of smart and mobile phones, and usage trends show a convergence between communication and entertainment,” said Jim Chan, product marketing manager, Lexar Media. “Today’s users rely on their mobile devices, beyond talk and email, for capturing live moments and downloading their favorite content – whether it’s photos, music, or HD video – and they want the flexibility to store and share them on demand. It is with this knowledge that we’ve developed this convenient, all-in-one solution to enable users to not only capture moments and download content, but also to move these to a computer or social media sites easily.”

Multimedia file storage, including photos, music, videos, is the primary reason people purchase memory cards for their phones2. The 32GB Lexar High-Speed Mobile microSDHC card enables users to not only store more multimedia files, but to also move large amounts of mobile content more quickly with its performance of Class 10. The card also includes pre-loaded software to allow users to manage their stored images and videos, sync content with their PC or Mac, and share them on the most popular social websites.

As a division of Micron Technology, Inc., Lexar Media is backed by Micron’s industry-leading memory technology, providing consumers with reliable, high-quality, award-winning products. Additionally, Lexar products are tested in the Lexar Quality Labs where all product designs undergo extensive testing to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability with more than 800 intended digital devices.

The 32GB Lexar High-Speed Mobile microSDHC card includes a ten-year limited warranty and the USB reader includes a one-year limited warranty. The 32GB Lexar High-Speed Mobile microSDHC card is available now at Amazon.com and Lexar.com, with a MSRP of $149.99.

That sort of speed and capacity isn’t cheap, though, as you’d imagine, and so you’ll need to dig deep to pick up the new Lexar cards. They’ll drop sometime in Q1 2011, priced at $399.99 for the 64GB and $699.99 for the 128GB.

Press Release:

Lexar Media Introduces the First 128GB Professional Secure Digital Extended Capacity Memory Card for Photographers and Videographers

High-Capacity Lexar Professional 133x SDXC Cards Offer High-Speed Performance for Capturing, Storing, and Managing Extensive 1080p HD Video

Key Messages:

64GB Class 10 SDXC™ card and industry-first 128GB Class 10 SDXC card provide massive storage capacities and professional-level performance for capturing more of the memories that matter
Minimum guaranteed speed of 133x accelerates the professional workflow by providing quick transfer of high-resolution images and HD video from the card to the computer
Professional-level performance supports the advanced image- and video-capture capabilities of the newest digital SLR cameras
Includes the latest version of award-winning Image Rescue® software for valuable peace of mind

Las Vegas, NV, January 3, 2011 – Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced new Lexar® Professional Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC) memory cards. The new high-capacity Lexar Professional 133x SDXC cards enable the capture, storage, and transfer of extended lengths of 1080p high-definition (HD) video and continuous, rapid-fire image capture in a single, high-performance solution. The Lexar Professional 133x SDXC card is the first available in a 128GB capacity, and is also offered in a 64GB capacity. Both cards are speed rated at 133x, providing a minimum guaranteed transfer speed of 20MB per second, and feature a Class 10 speed designation. For additional information about Lexar Professional SDXC cards, visit www.lexar.com.

“The professional photography industry is at a point where digital photo- and video-capture methods are converging, meaning that professional shooters need a memory solution with the versatility and reliability to safely store both photos and videos,” said Pachi Chen-Wong, senior product marketing manager, Lexar Media. “The 64GB and 128GB Lexar Professional 133x SDXC cards combine high-speed performance with large capacities to offer solutions for professionals who shoot large volumes of high-resolution images and HD video.”

The Lexar Professional 133x SDXC memory cards are compatible with all SDXC-enabled devices. The cards include the latest version of award-winning Image Rescue software to help recover lost or deleted photo and video files. Professional photographers can now capture, store, and manage more of the photo and video content critical to their livelihoods.

Lexar Professional 133x SDXC cards provide consumers with the quality and reliability they have come to expect from Lexar Media. All Lexar product designs are tested in the Lexar Quality Labs, a group of facilities where all Lexar product designs undergo extensive testing to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability with more than 800 intended digital devices.

The Lexar Professional SDXC cards include a limited lifetime warranty and free, dedicated professional technical support. The new 64GB and 128GB Lexar Professional SDXC memory cards will be available in the first quarter of 2011 at leading retailers and on Lexar.com, with MSRPs of $399.99 and $699.99, respectively.

The class 10 specifications mean that the memory cards are very fast and will be perfect for folks that like to put video and other media that needs high speeds on the cards for watching on mobile devices. The fast cards also mean that recording large HD video files works smoothly.

The 32GB class 10 card is capable of recording over ten hours of HD video and can store over 10,000 photos. The cards both ship with an adapter that allows the microSDHC cards to be used in a SD card device as well. Pricing is unannounced at this time.

“Today’s mobile devices have evolved from simplistic phones to multi-functional tools capable of handling email, music, photos and more,” says Meng Jay Choo, Patriot’s Flash Product Manager. “Smartphones have become a part of our everyday lives letting us connect with each other. Adding 16GB and 32GB storage solutions let consumers expand the capabilities of these devices.”

More on the subject found by Engadget included documentation from Samsung including the fact that once a microSD card is inserted into a WP7 device, it “will no longer be readable or writable on any other devices such as computers, cameras, printers, and so on.” This includes formatting. Scary! Furthermore, they were told that it’s not so much to do with total throughput, as Microsoft would imply, but mostly to do with the random access speed. Sadly, the type of cards these WP7 will be good to work with are currently only manufactured in bulk (which explains why the cards that come standard in the phones work just fine.)

[Via Engadget]

Toshiba claims that the new memory cards are good for read speeds of 95MB/s and write speeds of 80MB/s. The new fast cards will be offered in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities. Toshiba also claims more world’s firsts in the memory card market with the unveiling at IFA of several new microSD cards.

The new microSD cards are offered in 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB and are UHS-I cards with SD 3.0, UHS50 compliance. The new microSD cards are the first SD 3.0, UHS50 compliant cards, have read speeds of 40MB/s, and write speed of 20MB/s. Mass production for the microSD cars is set for November.

The SD Association has unveiled a new memory card design for much faster SDHC and SDXC memory cards. The new design uses dual-row pin design that will allows a bus speed of up to 300 Mbps in both formats and is backwards compatible.

The new interface will be offered in full size and micro form factor cards and will not change the physical size of the memory cards. The new dual-row pin design is part of the coming SD 4.0 specification expected in early 2011. Current UHS-I technology allows for transfer rates of up to 104 Mbps.

As well as transferring files to your iPad, when plugged into a regular computer you can transfer files between memory cards; we’re assuming each of the five slots simply shows up as a separate drive.  All the common formats are supported, including microSD, CompactFlash, Memory Stick and more; the full list is in the press release below.  The Lexar Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader is available now, priced at $29.99.

Press Release:

Lexar Media Introduces Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader For Easy and Reliable File Transfer

All-in-One Solution Enables Concurrent Downloads and Card-to-Card Transfer of Multimedia Files

Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader Key Messages:
Allows for quick and easy download of photo, video, music, and other files
Includes five slots and supports 24 memory card formats
Enables concurrent downloads to a host computer and card-to-card file transfer
Pop-up design protects card slots when not in use

Fremont, CA, June 24, 2010 – Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today introduced the Lexar® Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader. Featuring five slots and supporting 24 popular memory card formats, the newest reader is an all-in-one solution enabling concurrent downloads and card-to-card file transfer. The highly versatile card reader was developed with a unique pop-up design, which allows the card slots to be protected when not in use, and comes equipped with a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 cable. The reader makes it easy to quickly download photo, video, music, and other files from nearly any memory card to a host computer. For additional information about the Lexar Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader, visit www.lexar.com.

“From cameras and camcorders to mobile phones and GPS units, so many of today’s devices rely on memory cards, and not all of them use the same format. Managing these various cards can be cumbersome and confusing for consumers, causing them to mistakenly think they need to purchase multiple card readers,” said Jim Chan, product marketing manager, Lexar Media. “The Lexar Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader simplifies this process, eliminating the need for different readers and providing the ability to transfer important files and memories from nearly any memory card format.”

The Lexar Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader supports the following memory cards formats:
CompactFlash slot: CompactFlash® Type I and Type II
Secure Digital slot: SD™, SDHC™, miniSD™, miniSDHC™, MMC™, MMCplus™, and RS-MMC™
Mobile slot: microSD™, microSDHC™, and M2™
Memory Stick slot: Memory Stick™, Memory Stick (with MagicGate™), Memory Stick PRO™, Memory Stick PRO Duo™, Memory Stick Duo (with MagicGate), Memory Stick PRO Duo Mark 2, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™, and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo “HX”
xD-Picture Card slot: xD-Picture Card™, xD-Picture Card Type-M, xD-Picture Card Type-M+, and xD-Picture Card Type-H

In addition to ease-of-use and reliable performance, the Lexar Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader provides consumers with the reliability they have come to expect from Lexar Media. All Lexar memory card and card reader designs are tested in the Lexar Quality Labs, facilities with more than 800 digital cameras and memory card devices, to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability. Lexar performs this extensive testing in an effort to provide customers with the highest level of confidence.

The Lexar Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader includes a one-year limited warranty. The reader is available for purchase through B&H, Adorama, J&R, Future Shop, Best Buy Canada, Amazon.com, and on Lexar.com. The Lexar Multi-Card 24-in-1 USB Reader includes a one-year limited warranty.

About Lexar Media
Lexar Media is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of NAND flash and DRAM memory products under the Lexar and Crucial® brand names. Lexar Media offers products in all major flash and DRAM memory categories, including consumer and enterprise-level USB flash drives, industry-leading memory cards for photography, and all popular form factors of memory cards for mobile devices. Under the Crucial brand, Lexar Media offers industry-leading solid-state drives (SSD) and more than 250,000 DRAM memory upgrades for 50,000 computer systems. For more information about Lexar brand products, visit www.lexar.com, and for Crucial brand products, visit www.crucial.com.

Lexar Media is vertically integrated with Micron Technology, one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. Lexar Media, Inc. is a subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc. Lexar Media is a division of Micron Europe Limited, a division of Micron Semiconductor Asia Pte. Ltd., and a division of Micron Japan, Ltd.

Lexar. When Memory Matters.™

About Micron
Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets DRAM, NAND flash memory, CMOS image sensors, other semiconductor components, and memory modules for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, and mobile products. Micron’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit www.micron.com.

As with the latest Eye-Fi cards, the Toshiba technology would support both JPEG and RAW images, and they reckon their more advanced individual control over which imags were transferred “minimizes power consumption compared with [the] current solution.”  Best of all, the rather unwieldy name is only a temporary thing and likely to change – we’d like to proffer RAWsquirt as an alternative – as more companies (hopefully) jump on board.

[via PhotographyBLOG]

Press Release:

Toshiba and Trek Establish Forum to Promote SD Cards Embedding Wireless Communication Functions

Tokyo—Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO-6502) today announced the launch of an industry forum to promote a new SD card that integrates Wi-Fi wireless communication with data storage capabilities. The forum, the “Standard Promotion Forum for Memory Cards Embedding Wireless LAN”* has been founded by Toshiba and Singapore-based Trek 2000 International Ltd..

In recent years, as digital cameras have achieved huge rates of market penetration, the need for quick and easy way to share photographs has grown. The new card offers an innovative solution that brings new capabilities to the already very popular SDHC format.

The card is designed to bring Wi-Fi functionality to digital still cameras that have an SDHC slot. Once in a camera, a card can recognize and communicate with the same type of card in another camera (on a one-to-one basis), and users can exchange photographs quickly and easily. It also allows users to upload and download photographs to and from a server without any need for a cable connection or transfers of the memory card.

The new card is compliant with the SD memory card standard, supports IEEE 802.11b/g and has an 8-gigabyte capacity. It can transfer both JPEG and RAW images, the two most widely used digital formats.

Toshiba and Trek will invite the participation of digital camera manufacturers and other interested parties in promoting the card, and in exchanges of technical information toward establishing standard specifications and expanding the use of the card.

Toshiba is a market leader in the development and manufacture of NAND flash memory, which is indispensable for today’s personal digital devices. The company seeks to enhance and expand its memory business by proposing new applications for NAND flash memories.
Features of SD card embedding wireless communication functions

1. The ability to send and receive image data among digital still cameras equipped with an SDHC slot and the card.
2. Upload and downloads of digital photographs between a digital still camera equipped with an SDHC slot and the card, and in a Wi-Fi environment, and a server.
3. User management of image transmission and reception minimizes power consumption compared with current solution.

Card key specifications
Wireless LAN Standard: IEEE 802.11 b/g
SD card capacity: 8-gigabytes
Applicable formats: JPEG, RAW

Outline of The Forum
Name: Standard Promotion Forum for Memory Cards Embedding Wireless LAN*
Co-Lead Companies: Toshiba Corporation and Trek 2000 International Ltd.
Established: June 29, 2010

* Standard Promotion Forum for Memory Cards Embedding Wireless LAN is a provisional name and may be subject to change.

The card reader is called the P240 USB3.0 High-speed Multi-Card Reader. The device has an interface speed of 5Gb/s for high-speed transfers from memory cards to the PC. The card reader supports a number of formats including the new SDXC format with lots of storage space.

Other supported memory card formats include SD, CF, and other major formats. The P240 will sample next month and enter mass production in August. Pricing for the reader is unknown, but I wouldn’t expect it to cost too much.

The device is a SDHC Class 6 memory card that features Content Protection for Recordable Media and ECC to help ensure that the video is protected when recording. That is important if the video you are recording is something you want to keep.

The SDHC card is offered in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities. The 32GB card can record up to 320 minutes of video in fine mode or 480 minutes in normal mode. Pricing is unannounced at this time.

The Connect X2 enables easy uploads of images and video to 25 different online gallery sites, including Flickr, Facebook, YouTube and Picasa.  Meanwhile the Explore X2 packs the same gallery support as well as lifetime automatic geotagging and a year’s worth of WiFi hotspot access across over 21,000 different US sites.

Both cards will work with the recently released Eye-Fi Center management app, which replaces the company’s online setup system.  The Eye-Fi Connect X2 is priced at $49.99 while the Eye-Fi Explore X2 is priced at $99.99; both are on sale now.

Press Release:

Eye-Fi Doubles Speed and Capacity in New Wireless Memory Card Line-Up

Eye-Fi Also Doubles its Hotspots so Users Can Upload from more than 21,000 Hotspots

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 23, 2010 — Eye-Fi Inc., makers of the world’s first wireless memory card for digital cameras, today unveiled new wireless memory cards that deliver the next generation Eye-Fi experience of the award-winning Eye-Fi Pro X2. The “X2” family of Eye-Fi cards have faster-than-ever wireless photo and video uploads, improved performance, and virtually endless storage capacity with Endless Memory mode. The new product line-up is available today starting at $49.99.

Eye-Fi has also more than doubled its hotspot upload locations. Now, users of the Hotspot Access feature can upload photos and videos directly from their camera at more than 21,000 hotspots in the United States including 6,500 Starbucks coffeehouses, and Harborlink hotspots such as BP gas stations.

“Just in time for spring outings and summer road trips, we’re giving users the ultimate Eye-Fi experience – it’s faster and even more convenient,” said Jef Holove, CEO for Eye-Fi. “Uploading and sharing your memories with friends and family is as simple as finding a nearby Starbucks and turning on your camera. We do the rest.”

The Eye-Fi Connect X2 and Explore X2 join the Pro X2 as Eye-Fi’s new family of products, each with Class 6 performance, an 802.11n radio for significantly faster uploads and Endless Memory mode. All Eye-Fi Cards will be available at retailers including Best Buy, Office Depot, Amazon.com, Adorama, B&H and J&R.

Eye-Fi Connect X2 – At 4GB capacity, the Eye-Fi Connect X2 will automatically upload JPEG photos and videos to the computer and one of more than 25 online sharing sites, such as Flickr, Facebook, YouTube or Picasa, through a Wi-Fi network. MSRP: $49.99.

Eye-Fi Explore X2 – At 8GB of capacity, the Eye-Fi Explore X2 will automatically upload JPEG photos and videos to the computer and one of more than 25 online sharing sites. It offers lifetime automatic geotagging so photos and videos arrive at the user’s computer with location information already included to identify where the image was captured. Explore X2 also offers one year of hotspot access for uploading away from home at more 21,000 hotspot locations across the Unites States and through open hotspots. MSRP: $99.99.

Eye-Fi Pro X2 – Unveiled at CES and winner of CNET’s “Best of CES” award, the 8GB Eye-Fi Pro X2 will automatically upload JPEG and RAW photos and videos to the home computer, and will send them to one of more than 25 online sharing sites. It also allows users to create an ad hoc connection directly to their computer to wirelessly upload photos and videos while away from a wireless router. Like Explore X2, Pro X2 offers lifetime geotagging and one-year of hotspot access to enable uploads away from home at more than 21,000 hotspots and open hotspots. MSRP: $149.99.

Double the Hotspots Makes Uploading Even More Convenient
Beginning March 31, any existing or new Eye-Fi user with an active hotspot service plan can upload at more than 21,000 hotspots across the Unites States, including Starbucks and BP gas stations. Users simply walk into a supported hotspot, turn on their camera, and photos and videos will automatically upload to their computer or favorite sharing Web site. Users don’t even need to have their computers with them. Users can also upload through any open hotspot with no user agreement page. For a complete map of supported hotspots, please visit http://www.eye.fi/how-it-works/features/hotspot-access

Never Miss a Photo Opp with Eye-Fi’s “Endless Memory”
Eye-Fi’s new cards include the “Endless Memory” feature, which lets users choose to have Eye-Fi automatically make space available on their memory card after photos and videos are safely uploaded to the computer or Web. When the card reaches the user’s pre-determined amount of space used, it will remove files that have been safely uploaded, beginning with the oldest – even when the card is not connected to a network. If files have not yet been uploaded, Eye-Fi will not remove them. This option can be set up in Eye-Fi Center.

Eye-Fi Center – Easier Storing and Sharing on Multiple Sites
All Eye-Fi users can download the new Eye-Fi Center desktop application that makes organizing and sharing photos and videos easier. Eye-Fi Center has a redesigned interface that offers new features and is easy to use. Users can drag and drop photos and videos to publish them easily to multiple online locations – even including photos and videos that weren’t taken with an Eye-Fi card. Users can download the software at http://support.eye.fi/downloads.

Eye-Fi has received numerous product awards including Mac Observer’s Editor’s Choice 2010 Award and Popular Photography’s 2009 Photography’s Outstanding Products (POP), and was named a CES 2010 Innovations Honoree. For more information, please visit www.eye.fi or follow us on Twitter @EyeFiCard.

About Eye-Fi
Founded in 2005, Eye-Fi is dedicated to building products and services that help consumers manage, nurture and share their visual memories. Eye-Fi’s patented and patent-pending technology wirelessly and automatically uploads photos and videos from digital imaging devices, including digital cameras and the iPhone, to online, in-home and retail destinations. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., the company’s investors include LMS Capital, Opus Capital, Shasta Ventures and TransLink Capital. More information is available at www.eye.fi.

SanDisk reckon the only way they’ve been able to stuff so much flash into the new memory card is because it uses their third-gen 32nm X3 (3-bit-per-cell) technology.  They’re also offering it to OEMs with the option to preload content, so we’re guessing we’ll see more T-Mobile HTC HD2 style offerings where feature films are already waiting on the memory card for you to enjoy on your new toy.

[via SlashPhone]

Press Release:

SANDISK FIRST TO SHIP 32 GIGABYTE MICROSDHC CARD

Consumers Unleash the Potential of Smartphones With
Highest-Capacity Memory Card for Mobile Phones

London, March 23, 2010 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced that it has begun shipping the world’s highest-capacity removable memory card for mobile phones – the 32 gigabyte (GB)1 SanDisk microSDHC™ card. The new microSDHC card offers consumers an unprecedented level of freedom and flexibility in how they store, send and enjoy digital content.

“With the large volume of photos, videos and music that consumers create and carry around, a high-capacity memory card is a must-have component of today’s smartphone,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, president and chief operating officer, SanDisk. “This is the highest-capacity card of its type, and SanDisk is pleased to be the first to ship such an advanced product. This marks yet another important first in our innovative history in the flash memory industry.”

Smartphones have evolved far beyond the simple phone call. They serve as mobile offices, music players, cinemas, cameras, video recorders, GPS devices and gateways to the mobile Internet. The highly-versatile 32GB SanDisk microSDHC card delivers immediate memory expansion that lets consumers enjoy the storage-intensive features of their advanced handsets. For example, the 32GB SanDisk microSDHC card can store enough music to outlast 35 round-trip flights between San Francisco and New York before repeating a single song.

The 32GB SanDisk microSDHC card is available now on SanDisk.com U.S. and European e-commerce sites, with worldwide retail availability to follow next month. The new card comes with a 5 year limited warranty and carries a suggested retail price of £144.99.

The 32GB SanDisk microSDHC card also lets mobile network operators (MNO) and handset manufacturers (OEMs) equip their subscribers with enough storage to match the industry’s leading smartphones. By bundling SanDisk’s new card with the phone, consumers get high-capacity mobile storage in a convenient form factor. SanDisk microSDHC cards are also available in 2, 4, 8 and 16GB capacities and are shipping today in volume.

SanDisk is mass producing the new cards based on its industry-leading, third-generation 32nm X3 (3-bit-per-cell) technology, which makes a 32GB capacity possible in such a small form factor. The successful development and wide distribution of many X3-based products through OEM and retail channels in recent years demonstrates both the technology’s maturity and SanDisk’s ability to quickly bring it to market.

SanDisk microSDHC cards adhere to the stringent quality expectations of top-tier handset manufacturers and MNOs, and SanDisk is taking orders now. To meet the specific needs of different OEM customers, the 32GB SanDisk microSDHC card is available in a variety of card and adapter configurations as well as with the option to pre-load the card with custom software.

About SanDisk
SanDisk Corporation is the global leader in flash memory cards, from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk’s product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.

According to the Eye-Fi blog, that’s all down to their new X2 engine, which bundles together a 200 MHz ARM926 processor with an MMU, dedicated flash and radio interface engines, and encryption acceleration hardware.  Combined, they’re good for improved WiFi-triangulation geotagging accuracy and “Endless Memory”, Eye-Fi’s new system whereby images and video are automatically deleted from the X2 once the card has verified that they’ve been correctly uploaded to the server.

The Eye-Fi Pro X2 will also come with Eye-Fi Center, the newest version of the company’s desktop manager app for PC and Mac.  Eye-Fi Center will also be available for existing Eye-Fi owners, though so far we can’t find it to download on their site.  As for the Eye-Fi Pro X2, that’s available for $149.99.

To figure that out, bunnie had to go round collecting various real and fake memory cards.  The latter would sometimes be out in huge trays, with street vendors dropping the cards into Kingston packaging and slapping on an “authenticity” hologram and serial number.

“One vendor in particular interested me; it was literally a mom, pop and one young child sitting in a small stall of the mobile phone market, and they were busily slapping dozens of non-Kingston marked cards into Kingston retail packaging. They had no desire to sell to me, but I was persistent” Andrew “bunnier” Huang

After stripping down the various samples with nitric acid and acetone, it was revealed that several of the Kingston-branded cards were in fact fakes, and that even the authentic Kingston cards used Sandisk or Toshiba chips.  It’s an interesting – if technical – read, but if you’re thinking of picking up a new memory card (or trying to save a few bucks by grabbing one in your local market) you should definitely take a look.

[via Red Ferret Journal]

The new specs add new features to CF cards that will increase storage capacity and add performance to the storage medium. The changes include 48-bit addressing that allows for new storage capacity beyond the CF limit of 137GB currently to a new max of 144PB. Data transfers are also more efficient at 32MB per transfer rather than the 128K per transfer allowed now.

Features for more efficient clean up of unused space on the memory card have been added and there are a few optional features as well. The optional features of the new specs include a video performance guarantee to ensure quality of service for video capture apps and recordings with no dropped frames and a few others. The CFA offers no estimate on when cards using the new specs will be available.

Obviously you’ll need an SD 3.0 compliant camera to slot the Ultra SDXC into, and right now they’re comparatively rare.  Still, many of the new top-spec devices we’ll be seeing at PMA 2010 this week will be compatible, so if you’ve $349.99 burning a hole in your pocket then SanDisk would be pleased to see you.

Press Release:

SANDISK SHIPS ITS HIGHEST CAPACITY SD CARD EVER,
THE 64GB SANDISK ULTRA SDXC MEMORY CARD

SanDisk’s Highest Capacity SD Card Offers Increased Storage,
Making it Ideal for Extended HD Video Recording

London, February 22, 2010 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced that it has begun shipping the 64 gigabyte (GB)1 SanDisk Ultra® SDXC™ memory card, the company’s highest capacity SD™ card ever. With its 64GB capacity, up to 15MB/sec read speed2 and Class 4 speed rating, the new high-capacity SD card is ideal for capturing and storing massive 1080p High-Definition video files and then transferring them quickly to a computer.

SDXC cards are based on the new SD 3.0 specification, which makes it possible to manufacture SD cards with storage capacity up to 2 terabytes (TB)3. The SDXC card’s exFAT file structure helps consumers record long-duration HD videos. The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card can store more than eight hours of high-definition video with recording speed of 9 Mbps (HD standard)*.

“SDXC is the successor to the popular SDHC card format,” said Susan Park, director, retail product marketing, SanDisk. “The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card delivers the speed and capacity consumers need for extended HD video recording and improved rapid shooting of still images. The card is an ideal complement for recently-announced SDXC-compatible cameras and camcorders.”

Because the SD 3.0 specification was recently released, only a handful of devices may be immediately available that support SDXC cards. However, the pace of new camera model introduction supporting the SDXC format is accelerating. Canon announced at CES that all of its new VIXIA camcorder models and PowerShot cameras are compatible with SDXC cards. Widespread adoption of SDXC is expected to occur across a range of consumer electronic products including HDTVs, Blu-ray recorders/players, camcorders, cameras, mobile phones, navigation systems and computers. SanDisk® ImageMate® memory card readers are compatible with SDXC cards if the connected PC uses an operating system that supports exFAT.

The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card comes with a lifetime limited warranty**. The new memory card is available immediately at www.sandisk.com via the U.S. e-commerce site with a price of £259.99, and will be available at SanDisk locations around the world soon after.

Both of the new cards are Class 10, but promise read performance of 22MB/sec and 18MB/sec write performance, which is higher than Class 10 specs call for. The Class 10 SDHC cards will come in 16GB and 32GB capacities. The cards meet Class 10 specs dictating a minimum 10MB/sec data transfer rate.

Both cards are complaint with SD Association specification version 3.00. The 16GB SDHC card will sell for $129 and the 32GB SDHC card will sell for $245. Both of these cards will be great for HD video cameras with the performance and capacity they offer.

In case you’re wondering, in a compatible camcorder 48GB of storage is good enough for 6hrs 20m of Full HD AVCHD video.  Both cards will be available on February 19th, priced at the equivalent of $550 for the 48GB and $700 for the 64GB.

Since you’ll probably want to get your photos and video off the cards at some point, Panasonic have also outed a new SDXC memory card reader .  Currently compatible with Windows machines only, the reader not only accepts the new, high-speed memory cards but SD/SDHC and microSD/SDHC memory too.  It will retail for the equivalent of $55 and will also arrive on February 19th.

[via CrunchGear]

The four cards also manage 90MB per second read rates, and can operate in temperatures between 0 and 70 degrees centigrade.  Pricing kicks off at $99.95 and rises to $299.95 for the 64GB CF card; they should be on sale through Amazon.

Endless Memory – which can be switched off – automatically starts deleting from the oldest saved image, and users can pre-select how much spare memory they’d like to have at any one time.  Since the Pro X2 checks with the gallery to make sure the image/video has transferred successfully, there’s apparently no chance of accidental deletions.  Meanwhile, Eye-Fi have also revealed Eye-Fi Center – a free download for all users – which is a desktop version of the current web-app.  As well as streamlined control over gallery uploads, Eye-Fi Center will allow for the easy import of non-Eye-Fi images and video and their respective uploads too.

The Eye-Fi Pro X2 uses the latest version of the company’s proprietary Arcturus chipset, and is one of the first such devices to fit 802.11n support into such a form-factor.  It also offers ad-hoc connectivity (i.e. direct to a WiFi-paired computer, rather than via a router), automatic geotagging and hotspot access.  It’ll be available for preorder from today, priced at $149.99.

That’s because they’re water-proof, shock-proof and magnet-proof, which means you could drop them into sea water filled with high-powered magnets attached to 1.6 ton weights and not have to worry about data loss.  In fact Samsung reckon they’ll last ten years, which is longer than a lot of marriages.  No word on how much the cards cost, but they’ll drop in Europe first before availability spreads.

Press Release:

Samsung memory card features for consumers include:

Water-proof* – Innovative Epoxy Moulding Compound technology helps withstand over 24 hours in sea water.

Shock-proof – Survives high pressure, including the crush of a 1.6-ton automobile.

Magnet-proof – Resists over 13 times the magnetic force of home theater speakers.

Fast & superb data recovery – Free proprietary software assists with up to 3 times faster recovery.

Up to 10 years’ data retention – Capable of storing priceless data for longer without a refresh.

*Not applicable for Samsung Compact Flash Cards.

Samsung Now Offers Consumer Memory Cards

Global leader in memory components links up with Kondor to launch its first branded memory cards – storage designed to ensure that data is safe from everyday hazards

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the general availability of its premium Samsung memory cards for sale to the UK market. The global leader in memory components also announced a partnership with Kondor for the distribution of the premium memory cards to consumers in the UK market. While the local distribution partner will focus on the channel, Samsung is driving the strategy behind consumer marketing, communication and brand management.

“The creation of new premium memory cards under the Samsung brand are a perfect fit for our existing portfolio of consumer products,” commented Rob Haycock Managing Director at Kondor “We believe that the partnership will be a great success for us and our clients”.

“The market for memory cards continues to grow in leaps and bounds as consumers push for added storage in smart phones and other mobile devices,” said Stefanie Summerfield – Head of Business Development, Samsung Semiconductor.

“Our well-established leadership in the digital memory card space provides an ideal footing from which to launch premium memory cards that can match rapidly evolving, high-end premium devices such as smart phones and high-performance digital still cameras,” Stefanie explained. “Our cards also provide consumers with more of the outstanding reliability that they have come to expect from Samsung semiconductor products.”

Today’s consumer electronics market is fast evolving to include more and more multifunctional, content-oriented applications and devices. Samsung already has a strong branded presence in these consumer markets, a presence that will provide a lot of synergy for the new card products.

The NAND flash-memory retail market is estimated to already have reached $12 billion in revenues annually worldwide. As a result of continued dramatic growth in the mobile phone market, digital memory card demand is projected to more than double between 2008 and 2011. According to iSuppli, by 2011 more than 61 percent of mobile phones will include a card slot for additional flash card storage, compared to 51 percent of mobile phones with card slots in 2008.

In previous years, Samsung manufactured “white-label” digital memory cards for a variety of leading electronics companies and memory card companies. The company’s new line, aimed at the discerning consumer, is designed to ensure that valuable data is not lost, Samsung memory cards are shock-resistant, water-resistant and protected from damage caused by magnetic interference.

In addition, Samsung memory cards feature a modern brushed silver metallic design or a natural beige epoxy compound casing, and full compatibility with devices that have memory card slots. Most of the premium Plus memory cards can read data at 17MB/s (megabytes per second), though the CF cards provide read speeds of up to 45MB/s.

Samsung’s new premium “Plus” memory cards, which comply with the Secure Digital class 6 ratings for performance, are available in SD, microSD and Compact Flash (CF) formats with densities of 4-gigabytes (GBs) and 8GBs, with a 16GB density for an SD Plus card.

The new Samsung memory cards are currently available in France, Germany and UK, with other select countries likely to follow at a later date.