Carriers have found a new way of dangling content in front of consumers, but with all the same strings attached as the original “walled garden.” SanDisk (NSDQ: SNDK), the maker of the microSD memory cards, said today it has successfully demonstrated new technology with the help of LG (SEO: 066570), in which memory cards can come loaded with content but are only playable on approved phones. SanDisk said in a release it “ensures that content preloaded in these cards can only be used in approved handsets and marks the beginning of a new era in mobile phone service and content distribution.”

But the new technology sounds like the old way of doing business…If network operators distribute content on removable memory cards, and then restrict the accessibility of such content to only their subscribers, it’s just like the restrictions of the past. It’s not that it doesn’t make sense—in order to get free stuff from a carrier, customers should have to pay for it by sticking around for awhile. However, it all sounds very rudimentary, especially when you see carriers moving away from restrictions and even big music-players like Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) moving away from DRM. It also seems light year’s away from one of SanDisk’s other big initiatives. SanDisk is also working with music labels, and has convinced all four of the majors to sell its microSD memory cards pre-loaded with DRM-free MP3 music. Release.