SanDisk has unveiled 16GB and 32GB SDHC cards memory cards which increase the capacity and speed of its SanDisk Ultra II line.

The memory maker claimed that today's camcorders and point-and-shoot digital cameras that can record video and still images require larger capacity and faster data transfer speeds to the memory card.

The new SanDisk cards help solve this problem by offering faster read/write speeds of 15Mbps, up from 10Mbps read and 9Mbps write speeds in the SanDisk Ultra II line.

"As cameras offer more megapixels and HD 'record-to-memory-card' camcorders arrive, image sizes and files get bigger requiring higher card capacity," said Susan Park, senior product marketing manager for SanDisk Ultra II cards.

"Faster write speeds can reduce the time between shots, and faster read speeds reduce the time spent waiting to copy images to a computer."

As well as being two of the largest capacity SD cards commercially available, both cards come with a USB 2.0 card reader.

The 16GB card with reader has a suggested price of $179.99 and will be available worldwide in March.

The 32GB SanDisk Ultra II SDHC card is expected to hit the shelves in April with a suggested retail price of $349.99.