SanDisk SD memory card 'largest ever'

SD card capacity has increased 1000-fold in just 10 years

Memory specialist SanDisk has created an SD card with 512 gigabytes (GB) of storage space - the highest capacity ever released.

The card, which is the size of a postage stamp, will go on sale for $800 (£490).

The launch comes a decade after the firm released a 512-megabyte (MB) SD card with one-thousandth of the space.

Experts believe SD cards could eventually hold up to 2 terabytes (TB) of data, about 2,000GB.

The new card is aimed at film-makers shooting in the high-quality 4K format.

The 4K format - which is four times the resolution of HD - requires large file storage. Depending on compression, a single minute of 4K shooting will typically take around 5GB of storage space.

"4K Ultra HD is an example of a technology that is pushing us to develop new storage solutions capable of handling massive file sizes," said Dinesh Bahal, vice-president of product marketing at SanDisk.

The SD card format is one of the most widely used standards of flash storage, popular with digital cameras, camcorders and other mobile devices.

While camera types, resolutions and settings vary - a 512GB card could potentially hold around 30 hours of HD video.

Cloud worries

John Delaney, a senior mobile analyst from IDC, said innovation in physical storage was critical to the future of our devices - even if a lot of people are turning to cloud storage instead.

"The thing that is driving cloud storage is multiple devices usage - which solves the, 'Where's my stuff?' problem: if you use cloud storage for everything, whatever device you have with you can be used to access your content."

But he added: "So far there's still a strong preference for local storage.

"People just feel more in control and more able to rely on being able to access the content when they literally know where it is.

"Storing in the cloud means you literally don't know where it is."

Mr Delaney added that recent high-profile security issues around cloud storage - such as the celebrity picture leak last week - would play on the minds of consumers.

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