Best Buy Mobile first to carry SanDisk 16GB memory card

MILIPITAS, Calif. Best Buy Mobile and Verizon Wireless Stores will be the first major U.S. retailers to carry the new SanDisk 16GB microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro (M2) mobile memory cards in October and November, respectively.

The new fingernail-sized 16GB memory cards are the world’s largest removable storage capacity for mobile phones and allow consumers to “wake up” the many storage-intensive features offered by today’s portable handsets, such as music and video playback, high-definition digital camera functions, gaming and GPS applications. In addition to the mobile phone, consumers can use the 16GB microSDHC card in video cameras, GPS receivers or MP3 players with a microSD slot, such as SanDisk’s Sansa players.

“Handsets have become far more than just phones--they’ve become mobile jukeboxes, mobile offices, even mobile movie theaters,” said Avi Greengart, research director for mobile devices at Current Analysis. “Flash memory cards have increased in storage capacity, but even an 8GB card may be too small for anyone with GPS map data, a few movies, a game or two, a presentation file and other applications. There is an acute need for more mobile storage capacity. 16GB gives consumers the ability to carry their digital content with them and still have room to do more with their mobile phones.”

SanDisk’s 16GB microSDHC card has an MSRP of $99.99 and the 16GB M2 card has an MSRP of $129.99. The microSDHC cards are available in 4GB, 8GB and now 16GB, and are ideal for newer mobile phone models, most of which are compatible with these higher capacity cards. The Memory Stick Micro (M2) cards are designed for Sony Ericsson’s new generation of mobile phones, all of which are compatible with the 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacity levels. SanDisk’s 16GB mobile memory cards come with a five-year limited warranty.