Lexar Media and Panasonic have released details of new Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) flash memory cards that will be released shortly.

January 10, 2007: Lexar Media and Panasonic have released details of new Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) flash memory cards that will be released shortly.

Lexar’s releases will cover both the Platinum II and Standard product lines and both are scheduled for release from February. Both lines will be available in 4GB capacity but Platinum II SDHC cards are speed-rated at 60X and capable of a minimum sustained write speed of 9MB per second, while Standard Lexar SDHC cards provide a minimum sustained write speed of greater than 2MB per second. Lexar Platinum II SDHC memory cards will be bundled with the standard edition of Corel Photo Album 6 and include a limited lifetime warranty. Standard SDHC cards include the starter edition of Corel Photo Album 6 and a 5-year limited warranty. Both cards will come with an SDHC-enabled card reader.

Panasonic also unveiled a new range of SDHC Class 6-compliant cards at the 2007 International CES in Las Vegas and replaced two of its current Class 2 cards with Class 4-compliant models. The ‘Class’ definition refers to the card’s data transfer speeds. Class 6 cards must offer a minimum sustained write speed of 6MB/second. The new Pro High Speed SD cards’ high-speed data writing capability enhances the function of advanced SD/SDHC compatible devices to provide a more stable and effective performance. Top of the range is a 4GB SDHC card that can record up to one hour of High Definition AVCHD movie footage in Normal mode. Panasonic says it will continue to expand the memory capacity, and is planning to introduce 8GB and even 16GB SDHC Memory Cards this year.

Panasonic’s current 4GB SDHC Memory Card (with data transfer speed of up to 5MB/s, Class 2) will be replaced by RP-SDM04G with an improved speed of up to 10MB/s with Class 4. Also the speed classification for 2GB SD Memory Card (up to 5MB/s, Class 2) will be upgraded to Class 4, as a new model RP-SDM02G. To differentiate the Pro High Speed models from others, all Pro High Speed cards will have gold coloured labels. All Panasonic SD Memory Cards for general usage will come with blue coloured labels, with the exception of the 4GB SDHC Memory Card which sports a silver label.