Panasonic Corp., Samsung Electronics., SanDisk Corp., Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp. on Monday said that they have reached an agreement to collaborate on a new content protection technology for flash memory cards. Under the “Next Generation Secure Memory Initiative,” the five companies will start development of HD (high-definition)-capable security for SD cards and embedded memory for use in tablets, smartphones.

The five companies believe this technology will enable various HD content applications such as HD network download, broadcast content to go and HD Digital Copy/Managed Copy from Blu-ray disc media. With these applications, users can enjoy HD content on a wide range of devices, including Android-based smartphones and tablets, TVs and Blu-ray products. This content protection solution will be robust enough to protect HD content. A high level of content security will be realized through the use of the initiative’s technologies, including ID (identification) technology for flash memory and robust copy protection based on public key infrastructure.

“With our new secure memory solution, we are excited to create a strong link between the living room experience and the mobile experience. Now consumers can enjoy watching premier content, such as movies, on the go with their smartphones and tablets,” said Yoshiyuki Miyabe, corporate chief technology officer at Panasonic.

The five companies believe that they each can make substantial contributions that, when combined, will enable them to start licensing the new secure memory technology early next year. The five companies expect to see adoption of flash memory products and various embedded flash memory solutions using this technology in the market in 2012.

“Consumers are ready for a solution that enables the effortless consumption of online and offline content across multiple device platforms. SanDisk looks forward to building on its history of innovation in the flash industry by delivering optimized memory solutions to enable this new usage model with robust security technologies that can protect premium content,” said Sumit Sadana, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for SanDisk.

Tags: Panasonic, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony, Toshiba, Secure Digital, NAND, Flash