Late in 2008, Sandisk announced that the 16GB microSD cards were shipping, which is really cool. The fact that they can cram 16GB of storage into a piece of plastic no bigger than my thumbnail completely blows my mind. Unfortunately, many readers found themselves receiving Class 2 cards, rather than Class 4, as indicated by some retailers. We took a look at the differences in flash memory classes before, and decided that, depending on where you’re most likely to use the card, it can indeed make a difference.
As such, I myself have resisted purchasing the larger 16GB microSD cards, until we could confirm that they were of a higher class. I’m happy to let you know that Sandisk announced, today at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, the Mobile Ultra Class 4 edition of their 16GB microSD card should be shipping soon. This card basically doubles the amount of storage in the Nokia N96 or the Samsung i8510!
With applications such as CorePlayer allowing us to play unconverted video files on our phones, too, the difference in an 8GB card and a 16GB card is nearly 10 movies! It’s double the amount of space for taking photos, enjoying music, and recording video, as well.
The Sandisk Mobile Ultra edition 16GB microSD card is set to be priced at US$119.99 and is packaged with the excellent MobileMate USB card reader, though there’s no doubt that price will drop quickly. We’ll be sure to let you know when it’s available to purchase, and if you find it available through any reputable retailer, please do let us know.
