As you can see in the low-quality picture, it is a SanDisk 32GB microSDHC Class 4. Or… is it?

My other theory is that this is actually a good sign. Either SanDisk’s factories in China began producing the real deal (which was the cause for fake cards popping out), or these are real SanDisk memory cards that someone in China got his hands on.

Well, let’s wait and see what happens!

More info & link inside this article

Here’s an excerpt taken from the merchant’s web page:

Another great invention from SanDisk, the microSDHC is about a quarter of the size of an SD card and is the newest standard of SD flash memory specifically designed for use with ultra-small mobile phones and other devices. Like the miniSD, the microSD is ideal for use in storing media-rich files such as music, videos, and photographs in compatible mobile phones.
General
Product Type: Flash memory card
Storage Capacity: 32GB
Compatibility Non-specific
Memory
SD Speed Class Class 2
Form Factor MicroSDHC
Expansion / Connectivity
Compatible Slots 1 x microSDHC
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support 5 years warranty
Service & Support Details Limited warranty – 5 years

While Kingston has their Class 2 card for sale, SanDisk has already released to the market their own Class 4 version for this card ( Mobile Ultra ), which is supposed to be twice as fast as the competitor. However, the higher speed comes with a cost – $100, not so cheap.

Whether you’re looking to buy a Class 2 micro-SDHC card or a speedy Class 4 micro-SDHC card, both options are already here for you to decide. I’ve found that for most applications Class 2 is more than enough.

Link to Kingston 16GB microSDHC Class 2 Memory Card in Amazon ($48)

Link to SanDisk 16GB microSDHC Class 4 Memory Card in Amazon ($100)

A fake image of a SanDisk 32GB microSD card, found on the internet

The second half of 2009 is June. So does this mean we’re going to see this baby on the market in three months from now? Probably not. Expect this 32GB micro-SDHC memory card to be available not before the last quarter of 2009 (September – December).

As for the near future, there’s a big buzz around the new SDXC standard (the one that will replace the limited SDHC standard). These cards will be available in capacities of 64GB and up. If we take into consideration that usually micro-SDHC cards get on the market around the same time SD cards with four times the capacity get on the market, the really big news is, we might see 128GB SDXC (the bigger version) during the beginning of 2010.

On the other hand, SDXC is likely to have difficulties penetrating the market so the whole thing might be delayed for some time. We’ll have to wait and see.

These micro-SDHC cards are practical in so many ways. Because of their small size they can be used almost anywhere. I’ve found myself using a microSDHC card in my Canon camera (supports SDHC cards) only so I can read them in my PDAs (HTC Kaiser, HTC Touch Pro), both have a micro-SDHC drive.

Still, 8GB micro-SDHC cards are a better choice if you want to save some money. These cards have become ridiculesly cheap (~$15 USD). It’s great news because that means 32GB micro-SDHC cards are on their way to the market, hopefully we will see them by the third quarter of 2009.

The main reason NOT to buy 8GB micro-SDHC cards is that many of the devices, mobile phones and PDAs require to open the back-cover of the battery in order to change them. Some even require ejecting the battery, which means you have to restart your device, thus losing your work. In that aspect, 16GB micro-SDHC cards are way better (but, of course, not enough).

Currently, the only brand available is SanDisk 16GB micro-SDHC CLASS 2. I’ve yet to find any other brand or class on the market.

Some links for purchasing these cards are attached to the next part of this article.

Get these cards here:
SanDisk 16GB microSDHC Card CLASS 2 (Bulk Package)

SanDisk 8GB microSDHC Card CLASS 2 (Bulk Package)

The Panasonic 32GB SDHC card is already sold for a little less than the announced price, directly from Japan, as it seems. The SanDisk 32GB SDHC is being auctioned by an unknown eBay seller located in the US with no history whatsoever, which means it might be some sort of a scam. Let’s hope not.

This is going to directly effect the prices of those 16GB SDHC cards. Any time soon they are going to drop even more.

1. A new 32GB SDHC in the market means that 16GB, 8GB and 4GB SDHC cards will drop prices to make room for their new friend.

2. This means 64GB SDHC is the next step. We might already see them in the market by the end of 2008 or the first quarter of 2009. Who knows.

The interesting part is that although those tiny micro SDHC cards are one quarter of a full-size SDHC card, they are already available for sale in the form of 8GB micro SDHC, by Sandisk as well. It is probable that we are going to see by the end of 2008 16GB micro SDHC.

Since the new SDHC cards are evolving so fast, pretty soon someone will have to answer the question regarding the limitation of FAT32. I’m not sure if it really is a problem, but the maximum limitation of FAT32 when formatting a partition with Microsoft Windows is 32GB. You actually can format a FAT32 to a size bigger than 32GB using an external application, such as Partition Magic, but the big question is – will those SDHC compatible devices have problems reading those partitions? Will manufacturers force us yet again to dump our old devices from last year and buy new ones, only to use those 64GB or 128GB SDHC cards? I really hope not, but only time will tell.