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A couple of months ago, Kingston Technology expanded its line of miniSD cards to include 4GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) model. Today, it announced the development of an expansion card at the same capacity in the even tinier microSDHC format

Where miniSD measures 20 x 21.5 x 1.4 millimeters, microSD is only a pinky-nail sized. 11 x 15 x 1.0 millimeters. By contrast, a full-size Secure Digital (SD) card measures a more sizable 24 x 32 x 2.1 millimeters.

Kingston's new 4GB microSDHC card sells for $91 and is capable of holding more than 2,000 images, 1,000 digital music tracks or 8 hours of MPEG4 video, according to the company.

Although Kingston's microSDHC and miniSDHC cards top out at 4 gigs today, the company will eventually be able to offer them in capacities as high as the 32GB, the highest supported by the SDHC standard. Regular SD cards, those that aren't High-Capacity, only reach a high of 2GB.

Keep in mind all types of SDHC cards, be it micro, mini or full size, can only be used by devices that are enabled for this faster and higher-capacity format. That means smartphones, cell phones and compatible with standard microSD controllers, for example, won’t be able to use Kingston's new 4GB microSDHC card.

Fortunately, some device manufactures can upgrade their products to support the SDHC standard through a software update. Palm did this during the summer with a ROM upgrade for the Treo 700p, for instance.

Kingston has also introduce an adapter pack ($93) to compliment its new 4GB microSDHC card. It comes with the card and two adapters, one for mini and the other full-size SD expansion slots. The adapter pack greatly increases the number of devices you can use the card with. (The top image shows the miniSDHC adapter, full-size SDHC adapter, and 4GB microSDHC card, in that order.)