FujiFilm expects to see the maximum capacity of its XD Picture Card flash memory format double before the end of this year.

The largest capacity XD Picture Card available from FujiFilm or any other company supporting the format is currently 512MB. The Japanese electronics company is expected to announce at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that it is planning to put a 1GB card on sale in the second half of this year. Pricing details for the 1GB card won’t be announced until nearer the release. At present, the 512MB card costs around ¥25,000 (around £160) in Japan. The XD Picture Card format was announced in 2002 as a replacement for the Smart Media format that had reached the end of its commercial life. The card was developed by FujiFilm and Olympus, both of which offer digital still cameras compatible with the format. It is one of the smallest flash memory cards currently on the market, measuring 20-x-25-x-1.7mm, and weighs 2g. The debut of a 1GB card later this year still leaves room for future upgrades. The format can technically support up to 8GB of memory in a single card.