Samsung Electronics has released its first 2GB MultiMediaCard that combines four 4Gb Nand Flash devices.

The firm claimed that the device is the smallest, fastest and highest capacity memory card currently available for mobile phones.

The 12mm x 14mm x 1.1mm MMC Micro can transmit data 3.5 times faster than other cards, according to Samsung, and can store 12 hours of mobile video.

It is fast enough to download three hours of mobile video in under two minutes, and an adapter allows the card to be plugged into any multimedia card slot. The MMC Micro can operate at either 1.8v or 3.3v.

The MultiMediaCard format has been standardised by the MultiMediaCard Association, but not yet by the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association. 

According to analyst firm Dataquest, the global memory card market will grow five per cent between 2005 and 2010. The MultiMediaCard market will grow 17 per cent and the MMC Micro market by 95 per cent during the same period.