Memory Cards have become the default standard for storing digital information on portable electronic devices: PDAs, digital cameras, MP3 players, cell phones, etc. Unfortunately, while they all use flash memory, there are also many different proprietary form factors that have been released, meaning the memory card you bought to use for your PDA may not fit in your digital camera, and you are forced to buy a new memory card, ending up with half a dozen little gum sized incompatible memory devices in your kitchen drawer. So what are the different memory card formats?
Flash Memory Card Formats
Sony Memory Stick -proprietary flash memory storage system created by Sony (remember BETA video tapes?) for use with their electronic devices only. Looks like a stick of gum. The Memory Stick PRO Duo is even smaller and uses an adapter to fit into the same Memory Stick slots. Capacities range from 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB. The Sony 512MB runs about $70, while a Sandisk 1GB runs about $100. Sandisk and Lexar make compatible products at lower prices than Sony offers.
Secure Digital SD Data Cards - about the size of a postage stamp, these little flash memory chips hold 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB. A 2GB Sandisk Ultra II Secure Digital Card runs about $199, while a 64MB card is only $15. SD cards offer an incredible combination of high storage capacity, fast data transfer, great flexibility and excellent security; all in an incredibly small size. Makers include Sandisk, Lexar, Dane-Elec, Kodak, Toshiba, Panasonic.
Compact Flash CF Cards - also using flash memory chips, these are about twice the size of SD memory cards. CF Cards contain no moving parts, and provide users with much greater protection of their data than conventional magnetic disk drives. CF cards are slim, lightweight, and consume only 5% of the power required by small disk drives, making them a better solution for battery powered devices like MP3 players, digital cameras, etc.
Microdrives are another portable storage solution, tiny little hard drives about the size of a quarter. They are commonly found in Apple iPods given their larger storage capabilities. A 6GB Hitachi MicroDrive runs about $289, while a 2GB Sony drive runs about $133. These removable drives will fit into a CompactFlash CF slot found on electronic devices like digital cameras.
Multimedia Cards - MMC - an older format, very thin and slightly flexible, these cards appeared in earlier cameras with a simple serial interface. They have largely been replaced by SD data cards in most cameras and handheld devices. All the usual players make them: Sandisk, Lexar, Dane-Elec, Kodak, Toshiba, Panasonic.
Choosing the right memory card format: in general, you are forced to use whatever memory card format the manufacturer decides to include in their product. You cannot use a CF memory card in an SD based camera. So read the specifications when you are buying these products. If you have already invested $200 in SD memory cards for your camera and you are buying a new digital camera, you may want to verify it also uses SD cards. Switching to Sony and buying a $300 camera suddenly means you have to buy another $200 in Sony Memory Stick cards, quickly increasing the total cost you thought you were paying!
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