Espoo, Finland - To complement flash memory card support in its product portfolio, Nokia today announced that it has applied for membership in the SD Card Association and has signed a licensing agreement for enabling the use of SD memory cards in its devices. Nokia will also continue to support MultiMediaCards (MMC) that are currently widely used in Nokia's mobile devices.
The SD memory cards will be a valuable add-on to Nokia's offering in removable memory cards as they have gained good acceptance in the market of mobile phones, digital still cameras, camcorders, PDAs, printers, PCs, TV sets and other home electronics. Nokia's decision to participate in the SD Card Association will help in specifying SD cards that have the optimal performance, capacity and form for mobile devices.
"This is a natural step in our digital convergence strategy to adopt leading technologies to launch new, compelling mobile devices and services. Both SD and MMC cards will feature as significant components in our products now and in the future, too. They both have clear advantages. The MMC card is especially designed for mobile phones and builds on open standards; thus it is free of license and royalty fees. SD cards have good worldwide availability, and they enable the smooth exchange of digital content among the wide range of SD-enabled devices on the market. There is also increasing customer demand for SD Card technology in mobile devices," said Timo Poikolainen, Vice President, Technology Marketing, Nokia.
To expand the capabilities of SD memory cards in mobile devices, the SD Card Association has recently formed a Mobile Phone Task Force. By joining the Association Nokia will be able to contribute to the future SD flash card standardization work. "With mobile devices driving the ongoing digital convergence, the demand for memory capacity multiplies to enable extensive storage of digital content in mobile devices. Therefore, we aim to ensure that the needs of the mobile device industry will be met in the development of future SD card standards," noted Timo Poikolainen.
The SD memory card is a removable data storage device about the size of a postage stamp. The SD Card Association is an open industry standards organization established in 2000 by Matsushita Electric, SanDisk and Toshiba, and is supported by a consortium of over 700 companies. The Association aims to set the technical and specification standards for SD memory card applications and related products and promote the wide acceptance of SD memory cards in a variety of applications.
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia is dedicated to enhancing people's lives and productivity by providing easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, and solutions for imaging, games, media, mobile network operators and businesses. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on five major exchanges.
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About MMC cards
MMC cards are small, removable solid-state memory cards based on the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) open standard. The MMC standard grew out of a joint development between SanDisk and Siemens/Infineon Technologies, and was introduced in November 1997. Founded in 1998 with 14 companies, the MultiMediaCard Association has grown rapidly and now has over 160 members worldwide. The Association charges no royalties for using the membership-driven MMC standard.
MMC cards are designed especially for mobile phones and digital imaging, among other applications. They are fast for excellent system performance and energy efficient for prolonged battery life in mobile devices.
There are two MMC card forms: MMC (32 x 24 x 1.4mm) and reduced-size RS-MMC (18 x 24 x 1.4mm). MMC cards store data up to 1 GB, which is sufficient for approximately 640 000 book pages. The latest MMC standard, version 4.0 offers transfer speed of 52 MB/sec.
About SD cards
The SD card is the most popular flash memory card in use today. It is currently used in a wide range of digital products such as mobile phones, audio players, automotive multimedia systems, handheld PCs, and video and digital still cameras. Its slim, compact design promotes easy handling, an important factor for a "bridge media" which can be moved between different appliances.
The SD memory card measures 32 x 24 x 2.1mm and the miniSD card 21.5 x 20 x 1.4mm. The SD cards are currently available in a 1 GB capacity, which can hold 9 hours of digital video (MPEG4). Other available capacities include 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 and 512 MB.