Toshiba to Launch Ultra High-Speed SD Card Series in Global Market


New Cards to Support SD Speed Class 4 and Class 6 Performance

IRVINE, Calif. and TOKYO, Aug. 24 //-- Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc., (TAEC)* and its parent, Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba), announced today that they would launch two new series of SD Cards that offer high-level data transfer rates and read-write performance. The "high-speed series" will offer a maximum data transfer rate of 5-megabytes (MB) per second(1), while the "ultra high-speed series" will push transfer rates to as high as 20MB per second, double the rate of any other Toshiba-brand SD Cards. Both series will be rolled out this autumn, in Japan in October and globally in November.

In May this year, the SD Card Association introduced the SD Speed Class, defining three minimum data transfer rates for next generation SD Cards: Class 2 supports a minimum data transfer rate of 2MB per second; Class 4 supports 4MB per second; and Class 6 6MB per second. Toshiba is first in the industry to announce the launch of Class 6 products.

Both the high-speed series Speed Class 4 SD Cards and ultra high-speed series Speed Class 6 SD Cards will be made available in 512MB(2), 1GB(3) and 2GB capacities. The SD Speed Class will be clearly stated on the card and its packaging, allowing users to select the card that makers specify for use with their digital products. Applications will include video recording with high performance digital cameras.

Toshiba expects Speed Class to become an integral part of SD card specifications, and to prove popular with users by indicating which Speed Class SD Card is best matched with which product. Classifying standards for transfer rates will also assure that SD Card continues to evolve to meet new market demands, such as high-speed capacity storage in support of digital video. As a leader in SD Card technology and production, Toshiba decided to promote these moves by leading the industry in launching Speed Class 6 SD Cards, and will now gradually transition its SD Card production to the new cards.

"The speed class is important to maximize performance for demanding applications and help the consumer choose the right card for their camera or camcorder," said Brian Kumagai, business development manager, NAND Flash, for TAEC.

The new SD memory card series will be exhibited at the IFA 2006, the world's largest consumer electronics trade fair, which will be held in Berlin, Germany, from September 1 to 5, 2006.

Outline of New SD Memory Cards
Product Names        SD Speed Class   Capacity             Launch
high-speed series Class 4 512MB, 1GB,2GB Japan: October
Worldwide: November

ultra high-speed Class 6 512MB, 1GB,2GB Japan: October
series Worldwide: November

Key Features:

(1) Support for Class 4 of SD Speed Class (high-speed series), Class 6 of
SD Speed Class (ultra high-speed series).

(2) Maximum writing speed of 5MB per second (high-speed series), and 20MB
per second (ultra high-speed series).

(3) Adopts CPRM advanced copyright protection function, the copyright
protection technology developed by the 4C Entity, LLC (Toshiba,
Matsushita, Intel and IBM), which is also used in DVD.

(4) Compatible with current SD-card-enabled devices and SDHC-card-enabled
devices. SD Memory Cards with capacities of 2GB and under can be
used in both current SD-enabled devices and SDHC
(SD High Capacity)-enabled devices. As the SD or SDHC memory card
capacity supported by SD or SDHC-enabled device varies by individual
product, please refer to product specifications for more details.

Specifications
ultra high-speed series high-speed series
SD Speed Class: Class 6 Class 4
Maximum Write Speed: 20MB / Second 5MB / Second
Compatible Interface: SD Memory Card standard compatible
Power Supply Voltage: 2.7 - 3.6V
Compatible Standard: SD Memory Card standard compatible
Exterior Dimensions: 24.0mm x 32.0mm x 2.1mm
Weight Approx.: 2g

SD Memory Card
The SD memory card was jointly developed in 1999 by Toshiba Corporation, SanDisk Corporation and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (best known for its Panasonic brand name products). SD memory cards have been widely adopted worldwide. Toshiba has shipped more than 200 million memory cards(4) and is currently the world's second largest supplier of NAND Flash memory(5). The addition of Class 4 and Class 6 SD cards to the Toshiba SD Card family addresses the growing demand for high performance, high capacity storage.

The Toshiba SD Memory Card family now includes standard SD memory cards, as well as miniSD, microSD and SDHC cards. The entire SD card line features cryptographic security, protection of copyrighted data, high-data transfer rate for fast copy/download and high storage capacity. TAEC currently offers a wide selection of SD Memory Cards with storage capacities of 512MB, 1GB and 2GB. The Toshiba SD Memory card line-up now includes miniSD cards in capacities ranging from 512MB to 2GB, microSD cards in 256MB, 512MB and 1GB capacities, and a 4GB SDHC card. As the world of SD expands, SD Memory remains the global standard for compact, portable memory.

NAND Flash Background

As a recognized pioneer in flash technology, Toshiba was a principal innovator of NAND- and NOR-type Flash technology in the 1980's. Toshiba maintains leadership in Flash technology today, with a complete line of NAND memory in densities from 512 megabit(6) (Mb) to 16Gb(7) to meet various application requirements. NAND Flash has become one of the leading technologies for solid-state storage applications because of its high-speed programming capability, high-speed erasing, and low cost. The sequential nature (serial access) of NAND-based Flash memory provides notable advantages for these block-oriented data storage applications. Toshiba's NAND Flash memory products are optimized for general solid-state storage, image file storage and audio for applications such as solid-state disk drives, digital cameras, audio appliances, set-top boxes and industrial storage.

*About TAEC

Combining quality and flexibility with design engineering expertise, TAEC brings a breadth of advanced, next-generation technologies to its customers. This broad offering includes memory and flash memory-based storage solutions, a broad range of discrete devices, displays, medical tubes, ASICs, custom SOCs, microprocessors, microcontrollers and wireless components for the computing, wireless, networking, automotive and digital consumer markets.

TAEC is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba), Japan's largest semiconductor manufacturer and the world's fourth largest semiconductor manufacturer. In more than 130 years of operation, Toshiba has recorded numerous firsts and made many valuable contributions to technology and society. For additional company and product information, please visit TAEC's website at chips.toshiba.com. For technical inquiries, please e-mail Tech.Questions@taec.toshiba.com.

Source: Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.

CONTACT:
Jan Johnson of MultiPath Communications
Tel: 714-633-4008
Email: jan@multipathcom.com
for Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.

Rebecca Bueno
Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.
Tel: 949-623-3099
Email: rebecca.bueno@taec.toshiba.com

Web site: http://chips.toshiba.com/

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