 |
| Source: SanDisk. The 200GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition was introduced this year. |
Invented by SanDisk in 2004, the microSD format was initially known as TransFlash. In 2005 SanDisk contributed the technology to the SD Card Association, which renamed and released the final specifications for the microSD format on July 13, 2005. This format has become the most popular removable memory card in SanDisk’s history.
Collectively, SanDisk’s two billion microSD cards would store an estimated 11,103 billion MB* worth of memory – the equivalent of more than 100MB of flash storage for every man, woman and child that has ever lived on Earth.
The microSD card — which reduced the size of removable memory cards by approximately 75% — has played a pivotal role in many consumer markets. For example, the majority of “point of view” or action cameras, the fastest-growing segment in digital imaging, are based around the microSD format.
The microSD format has also helped propel the smartphone market by giving both manufacturers and consumers greater flexibility and freedom. Approximately 75% of smartphone models on the market today contain microSD slots, according to data from Strategy Analytics1.
Google included microSD slots in two of its fastest growing and largest mobile product segments — Android One, its mobile operating system for sub-US$200 phones, and phones designed for emerging markets. Android M, Google’s next mobile operating system, and Windows Mobile both permit consumers to run applications directly on microSD cards and/or increase the primary storage capacity of their devices.
"Demand for storage never stops growing. We will soon see smartphones with multiple-aperture lenses, phones capable of shooting UltraHD video and applications for taking and viewing virtual reality environments,” said Estee Chin, Country Manager – Malaysia, SanDisk. “MicroSD memory cards will also be instrumental in the growth of the Internet of Things by lowering the barrier to experimentation. Two billion is just the beginning, and we look forward to contributing to future technologies enabled by the microSD format.”
Fast facts about SanDisk microSD technology
The first microSD cards featured capacities starting at 32MB. SanDisk’s latest microSD form factor card is a microSDXC that offers up to 200GB of capacity, a 6,250x increase in just 10 years.
It took three years for CompactFlash cards to reach 1 million shipments. By contrast, over 1 million microSD cards were shipped in the first full quarter of availability.
On average, SanDisk has shipped 6.34 microSD cards every second since the formal unveiling of the specifications.
If you lined up SanDisk’s two billion microSD cards end-to-end, they would extend 18,451 miles or three-quarters of the way around the world.
In 2014, SanDisk announced the 128GB** SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I memory card, a twist on the format that enabled the company to vertically stack up to 16 memory die in the same card and expand capacity without changing the footprint of the device. Each memory die in this microSDXC card is thinner than a strand of hair.
In 2015, SanDisk introduced the 200GB** SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card, Premium Edition, a high capacity for the form factor, upping capacity by 56% in just one year.
SanDisk flash memory cards have held the number-one market share position worldwide for 13 straight years2.
SanDisk separately introduced the iNAND 7232 storage solution at Mobile World Congress Shanghai. This embedded storage solution is optimised to deliver better imaging performance and storage capacity in flagship mobile devices.
Interested?
Read the TechTrade Asia blog post about SanDisk's mobile memory solutions.
*1MB = One million bytes. The space available for actual user storage is lower than this number.
**1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes. The space available for actual user storage is lower than this number.
1 SpecTraX service from Strategy Analytics
2Source: Gartner Market Share Analysis: Flash Cards and USB Flash Drives Worldwide, May 2014 – (2001-2014)
posted from Bloggeroid
No comments:
Post a Comment