That 16GB SDHC card that provides extra storage for your netbook not doing it for you? Not to worry. The SD Association has announced a new specification for SDXC cards, with the XC standing for extended capacity. The new cards will support up to 2TB of storage, and will have higher bus speeds which means faster transfers.
As the press release puts it,t hat means you can store 100 HD movies, 60 hours of HD recording, or 17,000 fine-mode photos on a single card. Of course, those numbers are kind of arbitrary and could differ depending on your video or photo settings. But still…
It’s going to be a while before we actually see SDXC products. They’re expected to be featured at CES in 2010.
You can read the full press release after the break.
WITH UP TO 2 TERABYTES OF STORAGE
SDXC Memory Cards Provide Consumers with Massive Storage,
Incredible Speed in Familiar, De Facto Standard
LAS VEGAS – CES Booth South 3 #31277 – Jan. 7, 2009 – The next-generation SDXC (eXtended Capacity) memory card specification, announced today at the 2009 International CES, dramatically improves consumers’ digital lifestyles by providing the portable storage and speed needed to store weeks of high-definition video, years of photo collections and months of music to mobile phones, cameras and camcorders, and other consumer electronic devices. The new SDXC specification provides up to 2 terabytes storage capacity and accelerates SD interface read/write speeds to 104 megabytes per second this year, with a road map to 300 megabytes per second.
The SDXC specification, developed by the SD Association, leapfrogs memory card interface speeds while retaining the world-leading SD interface. Specifications for the open standard will be released in the first quarter of 2009. SDHC, Embedded SD and SDIO specifications will also benefit from the new SD interface speeds.
“SDXC combines a higher capacity roadmap with faster transfer speeds as a means to exploit NAND flash memory technology as a compelling choice for portable memory storage and interoperability,” said Joseph Unsworth, research director, NAND Flash Semiconductors, at Gartner. “With industry support, SDXC presents manufacturers with the opportunity to kindle consumer demand for more advanced handset features and functionality in consumer electronics behind the ubiquitous SD interface.”
Turning mobile phones into media centers
SDXC allows users to enjoy more from their mobile phones. Larger capacity and faster transfer speeds allow for expanded entertainment and data storage. A 2TB SDXC memory card can store 100 HD movies, 60 hours of HD recording or 17,000 fine-grade photos.
“With SDXC, consumers can quickly download higher quality content to their phones, including games, video and music – giving consumers a richer media and content experience,” said James Taylor, president of the SD Association. “The SD interface already has proven itself valuable in mobile phones. Now, SDXC memory card capabilities will spur further handset sophistication and boost consumer content demand.”
Shooting pictures at the speed of life
SDXC is also the first memory card specification to provide 2TB storage without hindering the high-speed performance necessary for high-end photography. It will provide maximum speeds even when the SDXC specification achieves its maximum 2TB storage capacity.
“SDXC is a large-capacity card that can store more than 4,000 RAW images, which is the uncompressed mode professionals use, and 17,000 of the fine-mode most consumers use. That capacity, combined with the exFAT file system, increases movie recording time and reduces starting time to improve photo-capturing opportunities,” said Shigeto Kanda, general manager at Canon. “Improvements in interface speed allow further increases in continuous shooting speed and higher resolution movie recordings. As a memory card well suited to small-sized user-friendly digital cameras, the SDXC specification will help consumers realize the full potential of our cameras.”
SDXC will enable camcorders to provide longer, professional level HD video recording with a small form factor.
The SDXC specification uses Microsoft’s exFAT file system to support its large capacity and interoperability in a broad range of PCs, consumer electronics and mobile phones. The exFAT system was designed for increased compatibility with flash media, from portability of data to interoperability with multiple platforms and devices on removable media.
“The SD Association is committed to answering and anticipating consumer demand for easy-to-use memory card storage that is interoperable in any device with a matching SD slot,” Taylor said. “The SDXC card gives consumers a new, yet familiar, high-performance card that will be used in hundreds of manufacturers’ device offerings.”
SD Association
The SD Association is a global ecosystem of more than 1,100 technology companies charged with setting interoperable SD standards. The association encourages the development of consumer electronic, wireless communication, digital imaging and networking products that utilize market-leading SD technology. The SD standard is the number one choice for consumers and has earned nearly 80 percent of the memory card market with its reliable interoperability and its easy-to-use format. Today, mobile phones, Blu-ray players, HDTVs, audio players, automotive multimedia systems, handheld PCs, cameras and camcorders feature SD interoperability. For more information about SDA or to join, please visit the association’s web site,www.sdcard.org.
Weren’t SDHC cards suppose to be 1TB max?
Who needs hard drives or solid state drives? Just pop in a 2 TB SD card and you are good to go. Imagine the power savings and space savings. Netbooks (and every thing else) are going to change a lot in the next couple of years. If the world doesn’t go bankrupt first.
Exactly. And for the ultimate kick to HDD/SSDs, just wait for a full operating system that can run from big BIOS chips (like 1gb big, we’re still far – 16mb or 32mb). SDIO ports will help for expanding the netbook (for functions that don’t require an external connection like wifi, bluetooth or a TV tuner) without having something sticking out like USB and maybe Embedded SD could help with bigger BIOS chips. And something I would like would be a system that holds my personal info on the card so when I insert the card into the PC’s slot it automatically detects and logs me into the computer, with the necesary encription methods. So my personal data wouldn’t be attached to a single device, but I can use it anywhere I go, no matter if it’s a desktop, a laptop or a mobile phone. It would be like the current phones’ SIM cards, which will tend to dissapear when this becomes true.