SanDisk announced that it has increased the storage capacity of its tiny flash memory cards. The company is now touting its 6GB and 8GB microSDHC cards which will be available later this year.

SanDisk notes that its 8GB microSDHC card is capable of storing up to 2,000 digital songs or up to five hours of MPEG4 video. Both cards comply with the SD 2.00 specification and are rated at SD Speed Class 4 (4MB/sec sustained writes).

"With these new cards, any mobile phone with a compatible microSDHC slot will have just as much storage as the largest-capacity iPhone," said SanDisk's Jeff Kost. "By offering capacities of 6GB and 8GB, SanDisk is poised to enable people to enjoy more photos, more map data for navigation, more videos, more games and more music, wherever they go, on any phone with a compatible microSDHC slot."

With microSDHC cards now jumping in storage capacity, the omission of a memory expansion slot on the iPhone seems even more biting -- especially considering that OS X takes up 700MB of storage space on the 4GB/8GB devices.

In addition, the company announced the availability of a new 4GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card. The M2 cards can be used in Sony Cyber-shot and Walkman products. The 4GB M2 card will retail for $99.99.