February 1, 2008 8:14 AM PST

SanDisk takes SDHC memory card to 32GB

Posted by Stephen Shankland

SanDisk's 32GB Ultra II SDHC card will cost about $350, including a USB card reader, when it goes on sale in April.

(Credit: SanDisk)

Correction 10:00 a.m. PST: This blog initially misstated the speed at which SanDisk's top-end Extreme Ducati cards can write data. It is 45MB/sec.

LAS VEGAS--SanDisk, one of the best known makers of flash memory cards, has started making the jump to 32GB capacity.

The company announced its 32GB Ultra II SDHC card Thursday at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here, a model designed with the needs of flash-based video cameras.

It will cost about $350 when it goes on sale in April, the company said. A $180 16GB Ultra II card will be available in March, and both come with a MicroMate USB card reader.

In addition, SanDisk announced a $100 8GB Ultra II Plus card. It hinges open to reveal a USB plug that lets the card be directly connected to a computer.

All the new cards can write data at 15 MB/sec, a notch up from the 9 or 10 MB/sec of earlier Ultra II models, SanDisk said. However, that's not as fast as CompactFlash models, where SanDisk's top-end Extreme Ducati cards reach 45MB/sec.

SanDisk's $100 8GB Ultra II Plus card hinges open to reveal a USB plug

(Credit: SanDisk)

SanDisk spokesman Ken Castle wouldn't comment on when the company's 32GB CompactFlash cards might reach the market. Competitors PNY and Transcend announced their 32GB CompactFlash cards in January.

"We've chosen to go with the SD first. That's where the momentum has been," Castle said. "Camcorders with HD (high-definition video) can eat memory pretty quickly."

SanDisk in 2007 sued 25 flash-card competitors, including Transcend and PNY, alleging patent infringement.

Originally posted at Underexposed