Got a new digital device such as a digital camera, mp3 player, laptop computer or other device that can take the new SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) memory card standard?

These cards look identical to standard SD cards, but break through the previous 2Gb barrier, allowing digital devices to store more data without needing to resort to 1-inch hard drives.

Also known as a Class 4 memory card, it surpasses the 4Gb cards that were launched earlier this year by Toshiba and competitors, with Toshiba’s own 4Gb card only arriving in September, little more than two months ago. How soon before we see a 16Gb, 32Gb or even 64Gb card?

32Gb and 64Gb USB memory thumb drives already exist, with the 32Gb model on sale for US $1499, although that price is set to drop as always happens after the launch of most new technologies.

High capacity cards are vital to users such as professional photographers who capture their images in the memory hungry RAW format at the highest possible resolution, as well as video camera owners whose camcorders record straight to SD cards.

The Class 4 standard requires that memory cards have a write speed of at least 4MB per second, with the Toshiba able to reach up to 6MB per second. 

At 8GB, which is incidentally the same memory size in the high capacity iPod nano 2nd-generation models, available in black or red, can store a maximum of 3 hours and 10 minutes of standard definition video in the MPEG2 format. Naturally video recordings in high definition will see less video able to be recorded, with a number of consumer electronics manufacturers releasing HD video cameras that record onto SD cards instead of tape, hard disk or DVD.

Using Apple’s own figures for their 8gb iPod nano, this is also enough to store 2,000 songs and thousands of photos.

SDHC Memory Cards are expected to find wide application in digital video and still cameras, although computer users with an SDHC compatible memory card socket will find it handy to have an 8Gb memory card, with part of that space able to be used with Windows Vista’s ReadyBoost technology to speed up the operation of Windows.

No doubt other operating system manufacturers are also looking to introduce this kind of feature in future versions – we’re thinking of Linux and the Mac OS here.

It’s important to note that SDHC Memory Cards cannot be used for or in devices which do not support SD Memory Card Ver2.00 standard as the file formats differ, so your older non-SDHC compatible camera or computer will need replacement with a compatible model first.

The card will cost about ¥40,000 in Japan, or approximately  US $340. It will go on sale in Japan, North America and Europe in early January – no date has yet been announced for an Australian or East Asian launch.

The SDHC Memory Card is based on the SD Card Association’s SD Specifications Ver2.00, which defines high capacity, high performance enhancements to market-leading SD Memory Cards.

It’s yet another advance in the memory market, challenging hard drives once again for dominance in the storage space, although with the massive sizes that hard drives are now available in, flash memory technology in hundreds of gigabyte sizes at consumer price points are still some time away.

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Entry was posted on Monday, November 20th, 2006 at 6:45 pm under Storage, Technology.

Read more entries by Alex Zaharov-Reutt.
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