SanDisk intros fast 8GB SDHC, reader combo

SanDisk this morning served serious amateur photographers and professionals with the release of the Extreme III SDHC 8GB. The flash card offers both the capacity for a large number of high-quality photos from a digital SLR camera while also delivering the speed necessary for burst shooting or video capture. Officially rated as Class 6 for a minimum 6MB per second write speed, the Extreme III is capable of at least 20MB per second in both directions, SanDisk claims. Such performance is also said to be helpful with the bundled MicroMate USB 2.0 reader that gives every Mac and Windows user a quick way of loading content which is small enough to accompany the card itself.

The 8GB card ships with data recovery software to retrieve deleted or lost files and, like its name suggests, is rated for harsh temperatures as cold as -13F and as hot as 185F. SanDisk hopes to ship the Extreme III SDHC within a month's time for $180; the MicroMate should also be available as a stand-alone device for $20.