The evaluation of data transfer speed rates for SD/SDHC cards is determined by the so called “Speed Classes”, which were constituted by the SD Card Association (yes, there is an association for that). So far, the fastest SDHC cards reached speed class 6, meaning the producers guarantee data transfer rates of at least 6 MByte/s. But now Panasonic in Japan unveiled cards belonging to the speed class 10 category [JP].

In Japan, the company started selling cards with 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB as early as today. Prices vary widely, but the 32GB card, for example, costs a whopping $420 (it boasts a maximum speed of 22 MByte/s though).