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flash memory

Which flash memory card should you use? There is the memory stick, the sd memory card among many other types of flash memory.

smart media cards & XD cards

Smart media cards were the first flash memory cards to appear.

Smart media cards are simply a repackage of flash memory chips. This format is dying out now because the companies supporting this like Fuji and Olympus have developed a new card. The XD card. The XD card is smaller than the smart media card. This is in order to fit into the smaller devices produced today.

XD card is faster for read and write than the smart media cards.

Multi-media card & sd memory card

The Multi-media card (MMC) are flash memory cards that are less than half the size of the smart media card, but is twice as thick.

The multi-media card flash media format is also being phased out.

The successor of the MMC cards is the Secure Digital card, or the SD memory card

One good thing about the MMC card is that it is compatible with SD devices. Except for the music players, because of encyption issues.

Also, the MMC cards are thinner than the SD memory cards.

The transfer rates of MMC cards are slower than the SD memory cards.

SD memory cards

According to PC magazine, by 2007, the market share of secure digital cards ( SD memory cards ) is expected to be 58%.

That means more devices by then would be using SD memory cards. So based on these statistics, it would be wiser to get SD memory cards.

Another feature of SD memory cards is the write protect feature. That way, you can prevent precious data from being deleted, or overwritten.

Just like the XD cards, the SD memory cards are very small and can be used in the smaller devices being produced these days.

The read and write times for the SD memory cards is fast.

memory stick

The memory stick was created by Sony. Now, the sony memory stick technology has also been licensed to other manufacturers.

There are now a few types of memory sticks.

There is the magic gate memory stick for digital audio devices, or music players. There is the magic stick duo for cellphones and pdas.

Memory sticks are expected to constitute at least 35% of the market share by 2007.

Compact flash memory

Compact flash memory is actually putting the PC Card interface into a smaller card.

Compact flash memory is used in the high end, high resolution, professional cameras. This is because professional cameras require huge capacity and extremely fast write times.

Compact flash memory is hardy. It can withstand physical force of 2000 Gs and temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees celsius to 75 degrees celsius. It is supposed to last for 100 years.

Issues at stake when choosing flash memory

First issue is capacity. Which type of flash memory supports the biggest capacity.

Flash memory Current maximum capacity Forecasted maximum capacity by 2004
Compact flash memory 2 GB 4 GB
Memory stick 1 GB 2 GB
SD memory cards 512 MB 2 GB
XD cards 512 MB 1 GB

The biggest capacity is the Compact Flash Memory. Even in future, compact flash memory will have the most space. Score 1 for compact flash memory.

Second issue is the read write speed.

Flash memory Read speed (kbps) Write speed (kbps)
Compact flash memory 6105 1415
Memory stick 3588 669
SD memory cards 4560 651

The final issue is the devices and manufacturers the flash memory can support.

Compact flash memory, sd memory cards and memory stick all support digital cameras, notebooks, pdas, music players and car stereos.

Smart Media cards can only be used in digital cameras and music players.

XD cards can only be used in digital cameras.

Need more memory? Check these out.

Computer Department : Memory : COMPACT FLASH CARD

Computer Department : Memory : DDR-SO

Computer Department : Memory : DDR200

Computer Department : Memory : DDR266

Computer Department : Memory : DDR400

Computer Department : Memory : MEMORY STICK

Computer Department : Memory : MULTIMEDIA CARD

Computer Department : Memory : PC100

Computer Department : Memory : PC133

Computer Department : Memory : PEN-DR

Computer Department : Memory : SECURE DIGITAL CARD

Computer Department : Memory : SMART MEDIA CARD

Computer Department : Memory : SODIMM

Computer Department : Memory : USB 1.1&2.0 FLASH READER

Computer Department : Memory : XD-PICTURE CARD

 

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