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Little MicroSD Cards Grow Up In A TransFlash
 By David Utter
Expert Author
Article Date: 2005-07-14
SanDisk, the maker of the tiny cards, has seen them adopted by the SD Association as a new standard.
The TransFlash specification, developed by Sunnyvale-based memory card and device maker SanDisk, has been adopted by the standards body overseeing the SD card format. They have renamed the specification to microSD.
Calling the cards little is an understatement. They measure 15mm x 11mm x 1mm, far smaller than even the miniSD card format. SanDisk sees the former TransFlash technology as being destined for mobile handsets.
Handset makers seem to have anticipated the standards adoption. Samsung, Motorola, LG, and Kyocera, among others, have microSD slots included in some of their mobile units.
Kyocera merits special attention on the TransFlash front. Its Slider Remix KX5 phone will include the little memory cards, and will have a 1.3 megapixel camera. Also, Kyocera's KX5 will be a music player phone, with support for MP3 and AAC format song files.
That AAC support indicates the KX5 would be capable of supporting content from Apple's iTunes Music Store, such as music and podcasts. Apple has yet to announce formal support for mobile phone music players, even though iTunes software contains references to phones.
SanDisk has a 256MB version of the microSD card available now, with 512MB coming in August. 1GB and 2GB versions should be available at points in late 2005 and in 2006.
About the Author:
David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.
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