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The era of 1TB microSD cards has begun
While processors can no longer keep up with Moore's law, memory manufacturers keep cramming more storage into ever-smaller spaces. Micron and Western Digital have both unveiled 1TB microSD memory cards that will let you significantly ramp up your smartphone storage, for a price. The products are arriving not long after Lexar started selling the first-ever 1TB SDXC memory cards.
Lexar will sell the first ever 1TB SDXC card
Lexar has unveiled the first ever 1TB SDXC flash memory card for cameras that will actually go on sale to the public, the Professional 633x. It's a UHS-I rather than a much faster UHS-II model, but runs at the top limit for a UHS-I card at 95 MB/s (class 10). That should be fast enough for most cameras to capture 4K video (class V30) and a long burst of RAW photos.
SanDisk's Extreme microSD cards promise 80MBps, live up to that claim
No one likes waiting for a file transfer to finish, and thankfully SanDisk is doing something about it. The company's new "Extreme" line of microSD cards (16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities) promises to deliver speeds of up to 80 MBps. Benchmarks done by Android Police have the 64GB card hitting 78 MBps when used in a dedicated card reader. Putting the card in a smartphone, however, yields far different results. Most smartphones, save for the Exynos 5 Octa version of the GS4, don't support the newer UHS-1 standard for increased transfer speeds. When tested in a Galaxy Note II, SanDisk's new card "only" achieved 14MBps read speeds and 14.6MBps write speeds -- that's still between 50% and 100% faster than a previous generation 64GB SanDisk microSD card. So now we just need phones to catch up, and for handset makers who are averse to microSD cards altogether to change their tune.
Samsung brings speedy UHS-I class SD and microSD memory cards in new 64GB sizes to IFA 2012
We've seen UHS-I class SD and microSD cards capable of incredible speeds before, and Samsung unveiled a few 16GB microSD modules of its own earlier this year, but now it's showing off 64GB sized versions at IFA 2012. The top of the line Pro editions intended for high speed LTE-connected phones and tablets are capable of read/write speeds at 80MB/40MB per second (SD) and 70MB/20MB per second (microSD). If you're not with us in Germany, you should be able to get your hands on them in mid-October.
Panasonic preps SD cards that survive heat, water and X-rays, will probably outlast you
Much ado has been made of weather-resistant cameras, but it's all a moot point if the memory card dies, isn't it? Panasonic wants that level of survivability in its SDHC and SDXC cards, and its new UHS-I-level SDAB and SDUB lines are tested for the kind of abuse that could see the camera give up the ghost first. The cards can take the kinds of punishment that we often associate with rugged gear, such as temperatures from -13F to 185F, immersion in 3.3 feet of water for half an hour and the usual steep drops. It's beyond this that the resistance levels become truly exotic: the cards are also built to survive zaps of electricity, proximity to magnets and exposure to X-rays. If it all becomes too much to bear, the design will even fuse on the inside to prevent fire burning the card from within. Those who like what they see will only have to decide whether or not they want the SDAB range's 95MB/s read speeds and 80MB/s writes or are willing to settle for the SDUB line's respective 90MB/s and 45MB/s transfers. We have yet to see if or when the SD cards cross the Pacific after their September 8th launch in Japan, although we hope so -- with that kind of extra-tough design, our photos are more likely to endure than we will.
Samsung rolls out Ultra High Speed microSD cards destined for LTE phones and tablets
While so far the Ultra High Speed Class 1 memory card designation has been reserved for SDXC and SDHC cards, Samsung just announced new microSD cards that support the faster interface as well. Currently being produced in 16GB sizes, they have maximum sequential read speeds of up to 80 MB/s, four times that of the high speed cards it introduced last year. There's no word on the write speeds but Samsung is already busy calling its next shot, planning to offer cards with even more storage in the future. Of course, you'll need compatible devices to make these new cards worth it, we wonder what kind of Advanced LTE smartphones with 3D gaming and HD video capabilities might be in store from Samsung soon...
Delkin intros 64GB SDXC card, claims to be the fastest with 45MBps write speeds
We have a sneaking suspicion we've written this post before. Oh wait, we did -- sort of. Months after taking a victory lap to flaunt the world's fastest SDHC card, Delkin is back, this time with a superlatively speedy SDXC in tow. The 64GB Elite633 card promises read and write speeds of 95 MBps and 45 MBps, respectively -- that compares with 95MBps and 80MBps for the company's 32GB SDHC. With a price of $539.99, of course, it wasn't exactly intended for those of you who are too lazy to dump some 17,000-odd photos onto a hard drive. Rather, it'll come in handy for the enthusiast crowd, especially folks with a penchant for high-def and 3D video. As for the rest of you casual shooters, we're quite partial to a game we like to call, "How much camera could I get for that $540?"
Lexar dual-slot CF / SD reader packs USB 3.0, downloads cards six times faster (video)
For professional photographers, every second counts when downloading images on a deadline -- especially when you throw enormous HD video files into the mix. With the $50 Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, photogs now have a fast transfer option to compliment their pricey high-capacity CF and UHS-I SDXC cards, theoretically enabling downloads at up to 500MB per second (though current cards max out at one-fifth of that). You'll need to have a USB 3.0 port and high-speed flash to take advantage of faster transfers, though the reader is backwards-compatible with USB 2.0 and older cards -- you'll even be able to use that 32MB CF that came bundled with your DSLR. And what about appearance? Lexar Director of Marketing Jeff Cable sums it up: "It looks similar to our older card reader, the USB 2.0 reader, except that it says USB 3.0 right here on the front." Bam!
SanDisk SDHC UHS-I cards are so Extreme they went Pro
Let's get this out of the way right up front: Sandisk's new UHS-I SDHC cards are fast but not that fast. So for all the talk of "extreme" and "pro" just remember that the claimed 45MB/s read and write performance pales in comparison to Toshiba's own UHS-I cards announced back in September with staggering 95MB/s read and 80MB/s write speeds. Still, they're fast enough to capture HD video from the latest DSLRs and certainly faster than anything touting a Class 10 SDXC rating. Now for the best part, gadget masochists, they'll range in 8GB to 32GB capacities with retail pricing set somewhere between $109.99 to $349.99. Just be sure your camera supports UHS-I before making the plunge, ok?
Kingston launches USB 3.0 roadmap, SDHC UHS-I UltimateXX card
The SD Association took the opportunity to introduce the UHS-II standard here at CES, but Kingston's doing its best to just make the most of the protocols that are available in the here and now. The outfit has just introduced its latest range of SDHC cards, the USH-I UltimateXX, which is set to ship later this month and be perfectly backwards compatible with Class 4, 6 and 10 equipment. We're told that it'll hit read rates of 60MB/sec and write rates of 35MB/sec, with pricing set for $69.99 (8GB), $179.99 (16GB) and $349.99 (32GB). In related news, the outfit's also launching its DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 USB flash drive, and it has plans to launch an entry-level flash drive in "late Q2 / early Q3." Head on past the break for the full skinny.
SD Association triples SDHC and SDXC speeds with UHS-II standard, adds secure eBook specification
Don't ever knock the SD Association for lagging behind. A scant seven months after the aforesaid entity revealed the UHS-I specifications, in flies the predicted successor at CES. UHS-II is a newfangled bus-interface system that promises high-def recording speeds of up to 312 megabytes per second, enabling pro shooters and videographers to actually consider an SDHC or SDXC-based camera rather than relying solely on CompactFlash or SSD. The protocol will be an integral part of the SD 4.00 specification that's going out to members later in the quarter, and naturally, it'll only be useful to SDXC and SDHC cards. We're looking at a 3x increase in transfer rates, and these same upticks will be gracing UHS-II microSDXC and microSDHC cards, too. Best of all, UHS-II cards will be fully backwards compatible with older devices and readers, as the speed increase simply relies on a new row of pins on a familiar form factor. In related news, a new eBook SD application has been announced, though the details surrounding it are murky at best. So far as we can tell, eBook SD cards will have their content pretty well contained, giving publishers the ability to rest easy while still getting content out to the myriad products that can understand SD. Peek the full release after the break. %Gallery-112383%
Toshiba fulfills your need for speed with UHS-I SDHC and microSDHC cards
Panasonic must be mighty annoyed right about now, because Toshiba's seemingly got it trumped -- when the first batch of lightning-quick UHS-I cards ship in November, Toshiba's chips will be faster and larger on day one. As you can no doubt see immediately above, the latter company's fielding full-size SDHC UHS-I cards at up to 32GB that promise maximum read and write times of 95MB/s and 80MB/s respectively, not to mention tiny microSDHC units that still manage a very respectable 40MB/s and 20MB/s. As usual, these numbers are fast and loose, so don't be surprised if you get a good bit less in practice, but you should be able to rely on well above the quoted minimum transfer rate of 10MB/s. No ludicrous early-adopter memory prices quite yet, but we imagine your ego will write the necessary checks as soon Toshiba takes care of that. PR after the break.
SD Card Association: flash card speeds to triple by 2012
The SD Card Association (truth be told, one of our favorite card-related associations) has a new spec in the works that will almost triple the speed of its SDHC and SDXC cards, according to CNET. The specification, which should be complete Q1 next year, will achieve 300MB per second by adding a second row of electrical contacts on the bottom face of the card, and will be backward compatible with older, slower devices. Although being referred to internally as SD 4.0, brand names for the technology are still being considered -- with UHS-II (the successor to UHS-I ultra-high speed bus cards) as one possibility.
Panasonic announces speedy new 8GB, 16GB UHS-I SDHC cards
We've already heard some of the claims made about SHDC cards using the new UHS-I specification, and it looks like we'll now soon have our first actual cards based on the spec courtesy of Panasonic. The company has just announced some 8GB and 16GB UHS-I SDHC cards at IFA, which boast a Class 10 speed specification and promise to deliver a maximum data transfer speed of 60MB/s, or about twice that of Panasonic's current top-end cards. No word on pricing just yet, but Panasonic says they'll be out this November. Full press release is after the break.
SD cards branded with an upper-case 'I' are faster, yo
Since they're theoretically capable of 300 megabyte per second transfer rates, we knew SDXC cards wouldn't stay slow forever. How will we separate wheat from chaff when faster models do appear, though? You're looking at it. This week, the SD Association unveiled the UHS-I specification for SDXC and SDHC cards capable of transferring data at up to 104 megabytes per second -- reportedly fast enough to record HD videos in real time. Why the association chose the phrasing "up to" is a little iffy, as we thought the point of such specifications was quality control, but considering how many Class 4 and Class 6 SD cards we've tossed that didn't match up to spec, we suppose we'll make do with a ballpark estimate... until the inevitable UHS-II makes the rounds. PR after the break.
