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Sprint looking to wholesale bandwidth to connected gadget makers


So, what's a flagging cellular operator to do once it has succumbed to the grim realization that no one wants to sign up for your service and you've already collected the dough from selling off nearly all of your towers? Go wholesale, of course! Unbeknownst to most, all of the Kindle downloads on Amazon's white-hot e-reader go through Sprint's network, and given just how successful that little venture has been, the carrier is hoping to expand its revenues from wholesaling bandwidth (which currently sits at just 3 percent of its total) by inking similar deals with connected gadget makers. From internet-connected vehicles to GPS systems to cameras, the options are darn near limitless, and with so much free capacity on Sprint's network, it might as well find companies to use it. 'Course, it's not like Sprint's the only one out there trying to carve these kinds of deals into stone, but it's definitely the one that needs to do it most immediately.

LG Arena rocking SanDisk's 8GB iNAND flash drive


For most, the fact that LG's Arena has 8GB of internal storage space is enough. It holds just under eight full gigabytes of miscellany, and it does so without complaining. But for us -- the nerds in the crowd -- knowing that those eight luscious gigabytes are actually on an 8GB iNAND embedded flash drive just makes getting up out of bed a great deal easier. Said drive can act as both the boot and data storage drive, eliminating the need for a separate boot device and mountains of stress. Mmm... NAND in a cellphone, how calming is that, broseph?

Symbian Foundation keeps on rolling with 14 new members

Support for the Symbian Foundation's upcoming open platform has officially reached a rolling boil with the addition of 14 members to its already-impressive roster, bringing the grand total to 78 companies spanning the range from device manufacturers to carriers, developers, banks, and beyond. Definitely falling into that "and beyond" category would be MySpace, which pledged its support presumably to get its tentacles deep inside the Symbian codebase -- a wise move considering the obvious trend toward mobile social networking. Also notable are the additions of HP, Qualcomm, GPS chipset maker SiRF, and SanDisk. About the only thing left for the group to do now is deliver on its platform promises by pumping out some phones through its partners -- and can you just imagine an S60-based HP phone?

LG and SanDisk team up for memory card-based content protection scheme

It's not quite slotMusic, but it looks like SanDisk is intent on offering yet another option for memory card-bound content, and this time its enlisted the help of LG to make it happen. This setup is intended to let cellphone carriers offer content that would only be able to be used on "approved handsets" on their network, which is apparently made possible by allowing IP connectivity to the memory card in the phone, which in turn serves as a network node that is able to be remotely managed using the industry standard OMA Smart Card Web Server. That bit of magic has apparently already been demonstrated on an LG KC910 Renoir phone, but it doesn't look like there's any carriers that have signed on just yet, or at least any that are ready to announce it.

[Via Phone Scoop]

SanDisk shipping Mobile Ultra 16GB microSDHC / M2 cards


SanDisk got official (after some fighting) with its 16GB microSDHC and M2 cards way back in September, but now we're being formally introduced to the Mobile Ultra line. Both cards remain topped out at 16GB, and it's also bundling a MobileMate Micro Reader along with each. They ought to be hitting shelves this month for $119.99 (microSDHC) / $129.99 (M2), and you can catch the full release just after the break.

SanDisk launches 16GB iNAND embedded flash for handhelds

With the help of some of their new manufacturing processes, SanDisk just doubled the capacity of their existing iNAND flash drive to 16GB. No, you won't be slotting this bad boy into your laptop. Rather, it's an embedded storage solution with SD interface for mobile handsets and the like based on MLC NAND, the faster and more expensive slower and cheaper flavor of flash. Expected for sampling to OEMs/ODMs in Q2 with the iNAND 32GB version coming in the second half of the year.

SanDisk intros "Premier" high-speed microSD cards

It's about time high speed sub-SD storage cards came to the market, and SanDisk appears to be leading the way (for now). The ubiquitous memory card manufacturer has introduced the "Mobile Premier" line of mobile-oriented memory storage cards. The new line was announced at CeBIT as SanDisk showed off new 1 and 2 gigabyte microSD cards that can read / write at crazy fast speeds of up to 10 and 9 megabytes, respectively. Although there is no firm date set on when these fast and small beauties will start shipping, the MSRPs will clock in at $44.99 and $69.99. While these capacities are certainly not new in the microSD space, the speeds have us salivating on how fast we can load these MP3 phones with a day or two worth of MP3 playlists.

Sandisk follows Kingmax; announces 4GB microSD card

Just like its buddies over at Kingmax, Sandisk has just announced a 4GB microSD card for use in that spiffy new multimedia-centric phone of yours. That's right -- no need to carry around that 4GB USB key if you've got 4GB residing in your phone -- right? Well, anyway, Sandisk's new SDHC (SD High Capacity) card -- announced at 3GSM just a little while ago -- has no official launch details at the moment outside of Sandisk's testing with OEMs to ensure phones don't freak out over such large memory cards being stuffed behind those batteries and in those side slots.

SanDisk kicks out M2 flash cards for Sony Ericsson handsets

We'll never understand Sony's perpetual obsession with proprietary formats, especially in regard to flash memory, but nonetheless, SanDisk is filling in the void for a large format Memory Stick Micro (M2) card by pumping out its GB1 / MB2 offerings. The MB2 comes in 512MB and 1GB sizes, while the GB1 ups the ante to 2GB of capacity. If you've discovered just how worthless those SD cards are to your new Sony Ericsson handset, we feel your pain, but if you need extra room for your K610, K800, K790, M600/608, V630, W300, W710, W712, Z530, Z550, Z710, or Z712, here's your answer. Additionally, owners of the D750, K750, P910, P990, V800, W700, W800/810, W850, W900, or Z800 will be able to utilize SanDisk's latest courtesy of the included Memory Stick Pro Duo adapter that comes bundled in. The trio of cards are slated to start shipping later this month, and while the big fellow will run you a steep $119.99, the 1GB flavor only demands $54.99, while you can snag 512MB for $44.99.

[Via MobileTechReview]

SanDisk intros 4GB miniSDHC card for cellphones

It may not be as small as a microSD card, but if you value size in bytes over size in millimeters, SanDisk is looking to hook you up with their new 4GB miniSDHC flash card, announced at CTIA. SanDisk is pushing this one squarely for use in cellphones, touting it as the cure-all solution to your multimedia woes, able to store some 2,000 high-res pics, 1,000 songs, or 8 hours of MPEG-4 video. You will, unfortunately, have to wait a bit to get all that sweet storage space in your phone -- SanDisk's currently offering samples of the cards to OEMs, with a retail release of the card set for sometime next year, though no price has been announced. Either way, you'd better hope miniSDHC is a feature your cellphone supports.

SanDisk debuts 2GB microSD card

Now that you've picked up that sexy little bit of Chocolate from Verizon, you're probably looking for a hefty storage option to load up all some of your tunes, and luckily SanDisk has got you covered with its new 2GB microSD card. First to market with a two gig flavor of this type of card, SanDisk has given VZW a 60-day exclusive for selling it in the US, while the rest of the world should be able pick it up at any number of locations. Available immediately, this card -- with its 1,000 VCAST song capacity -- will set you back an even $100, and probably less if you can find one of the OEM versions that SanDisk also announced.

[Via Aximsite]

SanDisk and Philips team for mobile payments

Philips has been peddling its SmartMX contactless payment system for a while, but things are really looking up now that SanDisk wants to get in the game. They're now working with Philips to include the SmartMX tech in their TrustedFlash microSD cards, allowing any phone with a microSD slot to make payments. The details are a bit slim, but it looks like you would have to buy TrustedFlash cards loaded with "credits" in order to make payments, which frankly doesn't sound like much of a step towards convenience for consumers, but rather a boon to SanDisk and Philips who will no doubt be taking a cut. However it works out, the industry is clearly marching towards contactless and phone-based payments, let's just hope it works out as an actual plus for the people who are carrying around the phones and making the contactless payments.

[Via Gadget Review]




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