By Matthew Henry
LOS ANGELES, USA: SanDisk has launched 8GB versions of its microSDHC and M2 memory card formats, giving mobile phone owners more storage for digital music, photos and video than ever before.
The new cards, which the company said are being released to retailers worldwide this week, allow mobile phone users to store more than 2,000 digital songs, 5,000 high resolution digital images or up to five hours of quality mpeg4 video.
However, SanDisk’s Australian representation confirmed that the cards will not be available to Australian retailers until later this year.
SanDisk is currently running an ongoing ‘slot education’ program aimed at raising awareness of the presence of a card slot in most new mobile phone handsets. The company argues that with increased storage capacity, users can make their mobile phones the centerpiece of their digital lifestyle.
The cards are also compatible with an increasing number of mp3 and portable video players, allowing users to in some cases double or triple the storage capacity of their players.
To celebrate the launch of the new card line, the company employed a festival producer in the USA to hold the Sunset Strip Block Party in Los Angeles, which featured headline music acts including Linkin Park, Common, The Crystal Method and Z-Trip.