SanDisk, the flash storage company now owned by WD, has launched two new products for mobile users in India: the 256GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Premium Edition card, and the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive m3.0 pen drive with both USB and Micro-USB connectors.
The 256GB SanDisk Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card is aimed at mainstream users in need of a high-capacity storage expansion option for an Android smartphone or other portable device. Users can record up to 24 hours of full-HD video or store loads of high-quality music and other files. Transfer speeds are rated at up to 95MBps, and the card is also touted to be waterproof, shockproof, temperature proof and x-ray proof.
First announced globally in June, the new microSD card will be available in India starting from December 2016 as an Amazon.in exclusive, priced at Rs. 13,390. It will later be available more widely online as well as offline.
The SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive m3.0 is also aimed at Android smartphone users. It features two physical connectors; standard USB 3.0 Type-A as well as Micro-USB which is commonly found on smartphones. The designs allows for USB-OTG functionality with compatible Android devices as well as easy sharing and transfers between the device and any PC.
The drive features a sliding body which covers either connector at any time, and will fit on a keychain. It will be available in capacities ranging from 16GB to 128GB. Transfer speeds are as high as 150MBps when using the USB 3.0 connector.
Availability will be exclusive to Flipkart at first, with prices starting at Rs. 650 for the 16GB model and going up to Rs. 3,600 for 128GB. Other online and offline channels will sell the device at a later date. All sales are covered by a five-year warranty.
Both products can be used with SanDisk's free Memory Zone app for Android, which lets users browse through their stored content and back up their data.
WD has also released the results of a study relating to the storage needs of Indian smartphone users, commisioned by it and conducted by Access Media International. 1458 users across 14 cities contributed to the report. 84 percent of respondents said they spend more than four hours on their smartphones each day, and 90 percent expect to spend increasing amounts of time on their smartphones over the next year.
Lack of adequate storage was the second biggest challenge that users reported as affecting smartphone performance, behind bandwidth but ahead of battery drain. 88 percent have more than 10 apps on their phones. Social media apps are their highest priority, followed by music and video download apps, utilities, camera-related apps and then music and video streaming apps.
Around 65 percent of respondents had less than 16GB of storage on their smartphones, and 90 percent share content primarily via the Internet. When running out of space, the first thing that most users do is delete apps and even data, rather than moving it to another device.
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