Sandisk to ship 512MB microSD card

SanDisk is the first to present its 256MB and 512MB microSD memory cards to store images, music and video on cell phones. The microSD specification is officially adopted by the SD Card Association and is based on SanDisk's TransFlash card.

The 256MB SanDisk microSD card is available right now for $44.99 and the 512MB version will ship in August for $69.99.

To date, more than 40 mobile phones that support TransFlash are shipping or have been announced. The company will continue to support existing TransFlash product lines and will transition its handset customers and the retail channel to the renamed microSD card over the next several months.

"Mobile phones now feature built-in high-resolution camera functions, content downloading capabilities and entertainment features that clearly demonstrate the need for removable storage cards to enhance mobile device capabilities," said Paul Reinhardt, newly appointed executive director of the SDA. "SanDisk worked hard to ensure that the TransFlash card offers handset makers and consumers an ideal combination of large capacity, small physical size and cross-platform interoperability. By making this specification an industry standard, we believe this will spur even greater adoption and market acceptance."

Brewer added, "Due to its small physical size and wide range of capacities, TransFlash has been extremely successful as a semi-removable storage card for mobile phones. We expect a seamless transition from TransFlash to microSD and with future plans for 1- and 2GB capacities, SanDisk plans to accelerate the momentum we have already generated."

SanDisk expects to ship 1GB microSD cards by the end of the year and 2GB microSD is slated for 2006.