SanDisk Announces SD WORM Cards

By TWICE Staff -- TWICE, 7/17/2008

Milpitas, Calif. – SanDisk introduced a new write-once flash memory card based on technology it acquired from Matrix Semiconductor in 2005.

The new SD WORM (write once read many) card will not be geared toward consumer applications, as initially suggested, but for professional uses “such as police investigations, court testimony, electronic voting and other applications where data files must be protected from alteration or deletion,” the company said.

According to SanDisk, the cards will be readable by any SD-compatible device, but the data will not be able to be altered or deleted. The cards can be archived for 100 years under “appropriate storage conditions,” SanDisk said.

The company is currently working with a variety of manufacturers to add the necessary firmware for reading WORM memory and is working with the SD Card Association to approve the new format as an industry standard.

The WORM card will initially be sold in 128MB capacity, with larger capacities expected later in the year. Pricing was not announced.