SanDisk Introduces 2-Gigabyte microSD Mobile Phone Card
Posted by Jack Cook on 07/31/06 in Music Players, PocketPC, Smart Phones
Fingernail-Size Memory Card Will Have Exclusive U.S. Rollout in Verizon Wireless Stores For Chocolate by LG Mobile Phone
Sandisk introduced yet another new flash memory card. This new micro-SD card supposedly has the largest capacity available…but I am sure we will see others very soon. This new card will will debut in the U.S. exclusively at 1,900 Verizon Wireless stores for the next 60 days.
(The full press release follows on the next page)
MILPITAS, Calif. –(Business Wire)– July 31, 2006 SanDisk(R) Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today introduced a 2-gigabyte (GB)(1) microSD(TM) card — the largest capacity of the world’s smallest removable flash memory card — to meet demand for a new generation of MP3 music phones, including the forthcoming Verizon Wireless Chocolate by LG mobile phone.
Using the SanDisk microSD card, the Verizon Wireless phone can store up to 1,000 digital songs downloaded from the company’s V CAST music service.(2) The card, which is sold with an adapter that enables it to fit into a standard-size SD(TM) slot of other devices, will debut in the U.S. exclusively at 1,900 Verizon Wireless stores for the next 60 days. Internationally, it will be sold by a variety of mobile retailers.
"Offering our customers removable SanDisk flash memory cards provides a great deal of flexibility in allowing people to manage their downloaded music, both on their personal computer and on their mobile phone," said Patrick Bucci, Verizon Wireless director of accessory products. (digy)"Apart from playing music, the Verizon Wireless Chocolate by LG mobile phone also can capture digital still and video images with its 1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder." Featuring a color screen, slider-style design and backlit red navigation, the phone is available today on the Verizon Wireless website (http://www.verizonwireless.com) and will be in Verizon Wireless stores on Aug. 7. The SanDisk 2GB microSD card will be sold by Verizon Wireless for $99.99.
"The need for higher-capacity microSD cards demonstrates that MP3 phones have come of age," said Jeff Kost, SanDisk vice president, handset business. "Clearly, many consumers are embracing the convergence of digital music and mobile communications because it allows them to carry just a single device. SanDisk’s removable flash memory cards represent the most convenient way for people to store, transfer and play music on their handsets, so we are delighted to work with Verizon Wireless on this new product introduction."
The market for musically-based mobile phones is stepping along at a lively pace. Strategy Analytics, a global research company, estimates that more than one-fourth of all handsets sold in 2006 will play music, and by the end of next year that number is projected to be more than half of all units shipped. Also, for 2006, an estimated 270 million mobile phones — about 29 percent of all new shipments — will have memory card slots, according to Chris Ambrosio, director of Wireless Device Strategies Service for the Boston-based research firm.
David Bullitt, SanDisk retail product marketing manager for mobile cards, said additional manufacturers will support the 2GB SanDisk microSD card with new models that will be introduced between now and the end of the year. SanDisk, he added, pioneered the development of mobile-specific flash memory cards and is the worldwide leader in the market. The microSD card was invented by SanDisk under the name of TransFlash(TM) but became a new standard last year when the form factor was adopted by the SD Card Association.
Apart from its retail line of mobile flash memory cards, SanDisk also announced the addition of a 2GB capacity to its OEM line of microSD cards, providing manufacturers with flash memory cards that range from 64 megabytes (MB) to 2GB. On the retail side, SanDisk offers capacities beginning at 256 MB. SanDisk’s previous highest capacity was 1GB.
The microSD uses the latest advancements in flash memory technology to deliver the smallest memory card in the world. Measuring about one-fourth the size of a standard SD card, the fingernail-size microSD card provides high-performance and expanded memory capacity for mobile phones using SanDisk’s TransFlash card slot or any new devices that are marked as microSD slots.
SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world’s largest supplier of flash data storage card products, using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Milpitas, CA and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S.
(1) 1 megabyte (MB) equals 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) equals 1 billion bytes.
(2) Assumes average 4 minute songs at 64 kbps.
SanDisk’s product and executive images can be downloaded from
http://www.sandisk.com/corporate/media.asp
SanDisk’s web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com
Written by Jack Cook · Filed Under Music Players, PocketPC, Smart Phones
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