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SanDisk unveils world's first 128GB microSDXC card

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Feb 2014 9:55 User comments (15)

SanDisk unveils world's first 128GB microSDXC card SanDisk has unveiled the world's first 128GB microSDXC card, the largest capacity microSD card to date.
"Smaller than the size of a fingernail, the new SanDisk Ultra microSDXC card enables consumers to use their phones and tablets as if storage limitations were never a concern, allowing users to capture thousands of songs and photos, and hours of video on a single, removable card," says the company.

The cards are designed for Android devices, although you will need to make sure the device can support microSDXC.

"The new SanDisk Ultra microSDXC card again demonstrates how SanDisk continues to expand the possibilities of storage so that consumers can benefit from our latest technology advancements," said Susan Park, director, retail product marketing, SanDisk. "With 128GB of removable storage, consumers will enjoy the freedom to capture and save whatever they want on a smartphone or tablet, without worrying about running out of storage space."



SanDisk compared the new card to the first microSD cards, which launched with just 128MB of storage: "SanDisk has increased storage capacity of microSD cards 1,000 times over in less than a decade with the 128GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC card. To enable 128GB of storage on a removable microSD card, SanDisk developed an innovative proprietary technique that allows for 16 memory die to be vertically stacked, each shaved to be thinner than a strand of hair."

The card retails for $199.99.

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15 user comments

125.2.2014 08:33

2tb & 300MB/s speeds have been promised on the sdxc roadmap.

They've spent a long time moving up from 64gb to 128gb tho, it seems to me that they are just maximising the profit they can extract but as 4k starts to happen (with the new phones like the Samsung S5 for instance & the next round of TV) they will have to get this moving faster.

It's pretty amazing stuff tho, a 2tb card so small, wow.

225.2.2014 13:39

Originally posted by Interestx:
2tb & 300MB/s speeds have been promised on the sdxc roadmap.

They've spent a long time moving up from 64gb to 128gb tho, it seems to me that they are just maximising the profit they can extract but as 4k starts to happen (with the new phones like the Samsung S5 for instance & the next round of TV) they will have to get this moving faster.

It's pretty amazing stuff tho, a 2tb card so small, wow.
Maybe in 10 years.........but not before so keep dreaming.

325.2.2014 13:51

Yeah but not REALLY 128GB.

More like under 128,000,000,000 Bytes.

Still... I remember floppies. :)

425.2.2014 15:20

Originally posted by hearme0:


Maybe in 10 years.........but not before so keep dreaming.
How is mentioning the SD Association's publicly available & declared 'roadmap' dreaming?

I think you're a bit off on your estimate, it has been convenient for them that 4K tech has taken so long to arrive but as it begins to get more common (esp on portable consumer videoing devices) that kind of large storage is going to become essential.

I'd bet on 2tb full size SDXC cards appearing in the next 3yrs with the micro maybe another year behind.
This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 25 Feb 2014 @ 3:20

525.2.2014 15:59

Be prepared to pony up $$$ for these. The 256 Gb SDXC Cards are still priced around $400.00 or so.

625.2.2014 16:54

A BIG part of the reason these chips have taken so long to hit the market, is that the increasing memory densities on these device have an exponentially (possibly logarithmically) higher failure rate during the manufacturing process. It took a lot of work to make the process economically viable.

725.2.2014 18:44

Originally posted by ivymike:
Be prepared to pony up $$$ for these. The 256 Gb SDXC Cards are still priced around $400.00 or so.
Indeed, but as has been the case with every big jump to date, yes, it will start out very costly but as we have also seen time after time not for so long.

826.2.2014 00:26

Originally posted by Bozobub:
A BIG part of the reason these chips have taken so long to hit the market, is that the increasing memory densities on these device have an exponentially (possibly logarithmically) higher failure rate during the manufacturing process. It took a lot of work to make the process economically viable.
Yeah on top of that a 7-14nm gap is considered the max for Moore's Law because quantum tunnelling comes into play... at the moment they are at about a 50 silicon atom gap at 22nm.

But this "vertically stacked" thing sounds like the newish 3D chip tech we are hearing about:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkane...res-law-behind/



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This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 26 Feb 2014 @ 12:27

926.2.2014 06:48

Originally posted by Jemborg:
Yeah but not REALLY 128GB.

More like under 128,000,000,000 Bytes.

Still... I remember floppies. :)
Which ones 8" or was it 7" or my favorite the 5-1/4" where I had a tool to snip the single sided and make them dual sided, those were the days.......

1026.2.2014 14:00

Originally posted by molsen:
Originally posted by Jemborg:
Yeah but not REALLY 128GB.

More like under 128,000,000,000 Bytes.

Still... I remember floppies. :)
Which ones 8" or was it 7" or my favorite the 5-1/4" where I had a tool to snip the single sided and make them dual sided, those were the days.......
Yeah yeah, I did that for my Z16!

1126.2.2014 15:04

@ Interestx & hearme0

I can't wait to enjoy a full season of.... on my watch screen & just forget about the 105" TV.

On the another hand:
The gadget need to be build first to support the whole 9 yards of memory inside the microSDXC card. Other wise you will end up enjoying maybe 1/4- of it.
...after what paying $$$ for it and/or be scam buying the fake ones out there. lol

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 26 Feb 2014 @ 3:24

1227.2.2014 08:57

Originally posted by Mrguss:
The gadget need to be build first to support the whole 9 yards of memory inside the microSDXC card. Other wise you will end up enjoying maybe 1/4- of it.
...after what paying $$$ for it and/or be scam buying the fake ones out there. lol
Generally I agree...but look at what happened with 64gb SDXC.

Supposedly it wouldn't work with a lot of hardware and yet it does.

More & more SDXC compliant phones & HD video cameras are appearing (these will be the initial big markets, I think)...& even 128gb isn't that large when you factor in 4k video.
It has to come & will, as before, I think, get cheap surprisingly quickly.


1328.2.2014 11:24

Originally posted by molsen:
Originally posted by Jemborg:
Yeah but not REALLY 128GB.

More like under 128,000,000,000 Bytes.

Still... I remember floppies. :)
Which ones 8" or was it 7" or my favorite the 5-1/4" where I had a tool to snip the single sided and make them dual sided, those were the days.......
I remember those 7 inch floppies and I used a hole punch to make the conversion from single to double sided.

1428.2.2014 13:58

Quote:
The cards are designed for Android devices, although you will need to make sure the device can support microSDXC.
Umm, no. SD/SDHC/SDXC is a standard. Any device that supports XC, will benefit from it, LOL!

1528.2.2014 14:19

The card retails for $199.99.
Expensive to me i can buy with this money a 3 or 4 Tbytes mini HDD.

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