SanDisk places bet on SDHC with new 32GB card

While Compact Flash may have been the dominant removable memory format for years, SanDisk says the future is now in SDHC, announcing a 32GB card that will go on sale in April.

SanDisk is targeting its new SDHC cards at handheld high-definition video cameras, which require a great deal of storage capacity. Newer digital cameras with high megapixel counts also require big file sizes, making the high-capacity cards a hot commodity these days.

The company has three cards slated to debut this spring. The 32GB Ultra II model will be priced at $350, while a 16GB version runs $180. In smaller capacity 8GB model will cost $100, but includes the ability to hinge open and directly plug into a USB slot.

SanDisk's latest Ultra II lineup can transfer data at speeds of 15MB per second, which is faster than the 10MB per second of previous models, but far slower than high-end Compact Flash cards. However, the small size of SD and SDHC has made the format the top pick for device manufacturers.

Last month at CES, Panasonic unveiled its own 32GB SDHC card, which boasts transfer speeds of up to 20MB per second. But Panasonic did not announce pricing or a specific release timeframe for what it called a "prototype." Toshiba last year announced it was working on a 32GB SDHC card as well, but at slower transfer speeds of 4MB per second.

In October, SanDisk filed suit against 25 companies for infringing upon its trademarks related to flash memory. It has sought a band on importation of rival products, although the case is still ongoing.