SanDisk Has A 400GB MicroSD Card For $300

SanDisk announced the new Extreme UHS-I microSD Card at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The drive fits 400GB on a card the size of your fingernail and takes the "world's fastest" honor with up to 160 MB/s sequential read performance.

SanDisk says the new model is 50% faster than the previous generation. Sequential write performance tops 90MB/s, according to the company's internal testing. The SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSD Card meets or exceeds the A2 specification for random performance used to launch apps at high speeds on mobile devices. The cost is less micro--expect to shell out $300 for the largest capacity and fastest SD card available.

Here's what SanDisk said about its new card in a press release:

“Consumers expect an increasingly better mobile experience, and with our 3D NAND technology, we are pushing the boundaries of innovation to enable them to create and enjoy more rich content on their devices. Our expertise in flash memory and microSD card electronics enables us to achieve unmatched performance. The breakthrough SanDisk microSD card is evidence of Western Digital’s commitment to delivering more advanced solutions that enable data to thrive,” said Jim Welsh, senior vice president and general manager, Client Solutions, Western Digital.

Parent company Western Digital is also showing a new mobile storage technology based on PCI Express "in anticipation of the next generation of high-performance mobile computing requirements."

The technology uses the latest PCIe 3.0 standard with a single lane capable of up to 985 MB/s. This technology has been discussed several times in the past but lacks the device support needed to spur production of the storage component. We may see moves in PCIe-based mobile storage this year, however, as companies look to new technology to increase performance and reduce power consumption.