SanDisk Ups the Ante, Launches 4GB SDHC Plus and 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo Cards

As it considers itself to be the world's largest manufacturer of flash data storage card products, SanDisk has to constantly live up to its name and launch upgraded products that will answer the consumer's demands for increasingly higher data storage capacities. And that's exactly what the company seems to be doing, as it has just launched at IFA 2007 two important upgrades to its high-performance Ultra II line of memory cards, namely the 4GB SDHC Plus and the 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo models.

According to the company's statement, both cards offer fast read and write speeds, of 10MB/sec, thus reducing the waiting time between camera shots and the download time when transferring photos and video to a computer. However, since these features could be considered normal for a company with SanDisk's reputation, they've also added a little extra to the mix.

Thus, the 4GB SanDisk Ultra II SDHC Plus card also offers both SD and USB functionality in one design, since it features SanDisk’s proprietary Hinge Lock technology, which allows the card to be inserted into a USB port on any computer. This two-in-one SD-plus-USB feature eliminates the need to carry cables or card readers to transfer photos and videos from cameras or camcorders and even if the card might seem a little frail, the truth of the matter is that it has survived more than 10,000 open-close cycles in SanDisk’s durability testing

"With video recording becoming a standard feature on digital still cameras, memory cards need more capacity and speed to capture not only high-quality photos, but also video" said Susan Park, senior product marketing manger for SanDisk Ultra II cards. "Our SanDisk Ultra II line of high-capacity memory cards provides increased storage and speed to meet the growing demands of digital photography, so consumers can capture, preserve, and relive their most precious moments."

Both cards are supposed to hit the shelves worldwide sometime in October, but their estimated price tags won't be exactly cheap, as the 4GB SanDisk Ultra II SDHC Plus has a MSRP of around 80 US dollars, while the 8GB SanDisk Ultra II Memory Stick PRO Duo will retail for around 160 US dollars.