Toshiba is set to launch its first SDXC memory card, packing 64GB of storage into a standard SD card form factor.
The manufacturer said on Tuesday that it would begin shipping samples of the new SDXC cards — the largest yet in that specification — in November. It also said the 64GB SDXC card would be the fastest memory card available, using version 3 of the SD Memory Standard, known as UHS 1043.
Secure Digital Extended Capacity (SDXC) is a high-capacity extension to the popular Secure Digital (SD) memory card format, which was developed by Matsushita, SanDisk and Toshiba for portable devices such as digital cameras, camcorders and handheld computers. It competes with formats such as CompactFlash (CF), MultiMediaCard (MMC) and Sony's Memory Stick.
Toshiba's card will be able to write data at 35MBps and read it at 60MBps. By comparison, the 333x standard used in the fastest CF cards allows for a write speed of 40MBps and a read speed of 50MBps.
Larger-capacity memory cards than Toshiba's 64GB card have also been announced using the CF format — such as a 100GB CF card from Pretec, announced last September — but Toshiba's offers the highest capacity available in the SDXC format, the company said. SD cards are more compact than CF, and include some features not found in CF, such as copy-protection technology.
The SDXC format was defined by the SD Association in April 2009, allowing for a maximum capacity of 2TB. The basic SD specification allows for up to 4GB of storage, while the SDHC specification allows for capacities up to 32GB.
In January, when the SDXC format was announced, Panasonic said that it planned to launch a 64GB card supporting the format, but the company has not yet given specific pricing or availability information for its planned product.
Toshiba also announced 32GB and 16GB cards, using the Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) standard, on Tuesday. These two cards also comply with UHS 1043, Toshiba said, adding that mass production of the new SDHC cards would begin in the spring of next year.
