SanDisk Bumps Up SD and MS Pro Capacities

Posted By: Ryan Wednesday, October 27, 2004 11:39:19 AM

SanDisk at CTIA introduced the world's largest capacities of Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD cards with 4-gigabyte (GB), 1GB and 2GB capacities respectively. These new cards are double the current maximum capacities and are designed to fit into a broad range of digital devices and consumer electronics devices.

With higher performance and embedded MagicGate technology, the SanDisk Memory Stick PRO and Memory Stick PRO Duo feature high capacity, high-speed data transfer and built-in security for the secure transfer of copyright-protected content and real-time recording of high-resolution images and video. The introduction of the 2GB SanDisk SD cards makes it possible to store hundreds of high resolution digital images, JPEG compressed video clips and many hours of digital music on a single card.

To achieve these industry-leading capacities, SanDisk employs its highest density 90-nanometer 4-gigabit NAND/MLC (Multi-Level Cell) flash memory, chip stacking technology and latest generation of 32-bit controller architecture. These are coupled with high performance algorithms to maximize MLC performance while benefiting from the lower cost-per-megabyte of MLC memory.

The SanDisk Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD cards are available at the suggested retail prices and availability as follows:

  Capacities US$ Availability
SanDisk Memory Stick PRO 128MB – 2GB $54.99 – $399.99 Now
4GB $799.99 November
  
SanDisk Memory Stick PRO Duo 128MB - 512MB $59.99 – $114.99 Now
1GB $204.99 November
  
SanDisk SD Card 128MB - 1GB $29.99 – $99.99 Now
2GB $199.99 November
  

You can check for the lowest prices on memory cards through our PriceGrabber service. 1GB SD cards can now be found online for around $65 USD.

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Large capacity memory cards

Strider_mt2k @ 10/27/2004 3:49:19 PM #
Excellent!

I don't have the money for a 4GB Memory Schtick, but it's nice to know they're out there!



RE: Large capacity memory cards
RhinoSteve @ 10/27/2004 6:33:42 PM #
With San Disk, who knows how good they would be. The last thing I need of 4 Gigs of hard worked data going to hell.

-- Passive Agressive types need not apply.
RE: Large capacity memory cards
Hal2000 @ 10/27/2004 9:06:43 PM #
Right. I agree, thats why I bought Lexar. Why take a chance?
My old Sandisks' ran slow and buggy.

Zodiac2/T616
2.128 gigs under the hood.
RE: Large capacity memory cards
Altema @ 10/28/2004 7:45:17 PM #
You have no idea what you are talking about! I use SanD sk cards all t e tim and hav no prob ems with d ta missi g!

:


I wouldn't trust SanDisk with all those files

The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/27/2004 11:04:33 PM #
SanDisk deserves their poor reputation.

And why are 2 GB Memory Sticks TWICE as expensive as 2 GB SD cards? Get serious.



******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

RE: I wouldn't trust SanDisk with all those files
ackmondual @ 10/28/2004 2:14:32 AM #
^^ B/c MS are from Sony. Sometimes the big guys charge more for this kinda stuff, for no reason at all ....

$800 is stiff for a 2GB MS. I'd rather get 2 handhelds for the price and lose all that extra capacity.

[signature0]the secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse[/signature0]
[signature1]My PDAs: Visor --> Visor Neo (blue) --> Zire 71.... so ends the "marathon", for now[/signature1]

RE: I wouldn't trust SanDisk with all those files
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/28/2004 4:31:58 AM #
The 2 GB cards are listed at $400. Still way, WAY WAY overpriced.



******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

Great for my next Clie... oh, wait.

otter @ 10/28/2004 3:55:41 AM #
Think of how many of these MS Pros won't be sold because Sony no longer makes Clies. Yes, other devices use them, but it still seems pretty dumb.

RE: Great for my next Clie... oh, wait.
The_Voice_of_Reason @ 10/28/2004 4:17:37 AM #
You got that right. I always used to say Memory Stick was overpriced, proprietary junk and preferred Compact Flash. Then I bought a CLIE S300. Now I've got 6 or 7 Memory Sticks ranging from 8 MB to 1 GB. I actually thought about getting a Sony digital camera recently because I already have a bunch of Memory Sticks sitting around. Sony's little scheme worked to get me hooked on their format, but now they've dumped PDAs I doubt I'll ever buy another Memory Stick again.

Unless they've got another cheap consumer device coming out soon (gaming handheld?) that uses Memory Stick, they're probably making a big mistake in leaving the PDA market. Sony deserves to burn in he11.



******************************************************************
Sony CLIE UX100: 128 MB real RAM, OLED screen. All the PDA anyone really ever wanted.

RE: Great for my next Clie... oh, wait.
hkklife @ 10/28/2004 2:02:01 PM #
Sony has impossibly confused the market. Just look at the different flavors of MS they've intro'd in the past 5 years or so:

MS
MS Select (2 128mb banks on one physical card)
MS Pro
MS Duo
MS Duo Pro

Then on top of that you have MagicGate variants on 3-4 of those styles above. It creates a nightmare at retail to stock everything (try convincing a customer to buy a 128mb MS Pro for his shiny new Digicam over the $15 cheaper 128mb standard purple MS) and even more of a headache to educate customers.

Then you have people buying MS Pros only to find out they won't work with their "old" MS device. Then you have Sony Ericsson cell phones using MS Duo, Sony CE products using MS Pro and Sony TVs (until recently at least), Samsung camcorders & some Minolta cams having vanilla MS slots. It's absolutely maddening for someone who's not an uber-geek to keep it all straight. I have to imagine Sony will ultimately discard MS in favor or whatever open standard succeeds SD down the road. Also, where are all of those MS IO peripherals we were promised? Same place where the SDIO stuff is I guess!

In addition to thise, over the years we've seen type II & III CF, 5v & 3.3v SmartMedia cards, MMC & SD and the mini variants etc etc.

What always ends up happening is the original design consortium sets a speec/capacity ceiling (128mb, 1gb etc) and thinks it'll be years before consumers want that much storage. Inevitably, that always comes to pass sooner than later. Amazingly, SD is doing so much better than I ever thought it would three or four years ago. I'll really be rejoicing when I can buy a 1gb SD for $50 with no rebates or headaches. That'll be a milestone event!

Memory Card Lifespan

grahamnind @ 10/28/2004 3:48:36 AM #
My first SD card was 16Mb and cost me about £30. I didn't think I would ever fill it!

6 months later I bought a 32Mb and it cost me about £30. I didn't think I would ever fill it.

Then I bought a 128Mb card for about £30. I thought that I would probably fill it.

Later I bought a 256 Mb card for about £30. I knew I would fill it.

Last week I bought a half-gig card and guess how much it cost? About £30. Wonder if I'll fill it?

The 2 morals of this are:
1) No matter how much storage you think you need, you will almost certainly need more
2) If you wait long enough you'll probably be able to get a 4 gig for about £30

Compatibility

Garfie1d @ 10/29/2004 10:35:44 AM #
I've read that Palm devices's have problems with SD Cards over 512Mb. I asked Palm themselves and the response was that they do not support cards over 512Mb and anything over 256Mb would probably run too slow anyway.

Has anyone had any experience with a 512Mb or greater SD Card?


RE: Compatibility
Admin @ 10/29/2004 12:30:42 PM #
I use a 1GB card often and have never had any problem. The Palm OS can handle large size SD cards no problem.
RE: Compatibility
CaptMyCapt @ 10/29/2004 2:14:54 PM #
I've used the heck out of a 1G(Lexar) SD Card with no mishaps whatsoever. PalmOne tends to be a bit cautious at times. I'll say no more. Don't be shy about going to the higer capacities! Just make sure you back up EVERYTHING (i.e., handhelds, PCs, Macs, and Cards.

I, Captain

"You will never make progress trying to sail into the wind - chart your course!"

RE: Compatibility
bsquare @ 11/1/2004 11:08:14 AM #

Aren't the SD Cards formatted as FAT? If so won't we be hitting a 2 gig limit on what we'll be see here pretty soon?



RE: Compatibility
T. @ 11/1/2004 12:54:35 PM #
I use a 1G SD card from PNY in a T3 and haven't had any problems yet. It is about 50% capacity.

I originally had problems with the T3, like everyone else, prior to the patch they released soon after the initial product offering.

Since then I occasionally had problems with a 512 from PNY, but never to the point of loosing data or damaging the card. It would occasionaly not recognize the card and I would have to reinsert it.

I did notice a speed issue (such as with updating Avantgo pages) and had to opt to have that program's data stored in RAM. The 1G seems about the same.


Read/Write speeds

PalmProgrammer @ 10/29/2004 10:38:23 AM #
Does anyone know of a good comparison of the read/write/access speeds of these cards? I want to minimize the write speed so I can sync faster.

Thanks for any advice,

-PP

Help me get a http://www.freepalms.com/index.php?AFFID=711">free palm

RE: Read/Write speeds
ackmondual @ 10/29/2004 11:44:18 PM #
I hear Lexar has some good transfer rates. Otherwise, do a google on "VFS" and some other word/phrase involving transfer speeds or rates.
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