What Secure Digital card do you use?

[ECOslin]

I've been thinking(for a long time) of buying a Secure Digital 128mb card to install programs to on my Audiovox Maestro.

So I'm wondering what SD cards people use and what SD cards people don't use?

Anyone know of any substantial rebates?(I've seen Sandisk $10, Viking $10)

Edward

[shawnc]

Though I've heard that these are not as reliable as others, I've been using Sandisk since Xmas with no problems. I have a 128MB and 256MB (my wife decided to "surprise" me with the 128 AFTER my 256 had been shipped). I'd be willing to sell you my 128MB if you're interested. Feel free to PM me or email at: [email protected].

[Delta737]

I use SanDisk with my e310 and have not experienced any problems...

[drop]

I have a Lexar 128MB SD card. I got it from CompUSA for $39.95 with MIR. This debate program was over but I am sure you can find other, perhaps better, deals out there.

[disconnected]

I've used Sandisk 128MB and 256MB cards with no problems. My newest card is a SimpleTech 512MB from Microcenter. The first one I got had problems; some of the time my iPAQ would not recognize it at all, and some of the time it said it was a malfunctioning device. I exchanged it, and haven't had any problems with the second one (I've been using it for almost a month).

[hgwte]

I use a Simpletech (128MB) ... I have not had any problems with it.

[wrightca]

You have no option for Toshiba!

I have a 128MB Toshiba, with a SimpleTech 128 CF card

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I hope we see a lot of responses across the board... I'd be real interested to seeing these percentages.

I myself have one 256MB Lexar and another 512MB Lexar on the way.

[dotcomguy]

I have a Lexar 128MB SD card. I got it from CompUSA for $39.95 with MIR. This debate program was over but I am sure you can find other, perhaps better, deals out there.
Man, that's a great price. The best I found was around $60 for 128MB. I don't really mind what brand it is, beacuse after spending $450 on the e740, I'm interested in good deals. ;)

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

The sweet pricepoint is at 256MB. Meaning they tend to sell at less than the combined price of 128MB.

Combine that with the fact that 256MB cards are 4x faster than 128MB, and I'd say you have no reason to not shoot for at least 256MB!!

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Just realized in looking at those percentages that SanDisk, while the most used, is not exactly dominating on the scale I would have guessed.

People like to say that the random problems we hear about SanDisk is due to the them being the dominant brand, but those percentages are certainly not consistent with that theory...

[PHactotum]

I voted SanDisk, but I can no longer use the card. I had a 128MB Sandisk, that seemed to defy the experiences of others in that it worked.

A few months ago, about 4 months into using it, I found that most of the data on the card was unreadable 8O

Because of this I am using a I-O Data devices 32MB SD card that came with my digital camcorder.

I'm looking at the Lexar 256MB as a suitable replacement.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Lexar, IMO, is an excellent alternative. I have three SD cards... all Lexar and all are fast and work well.

256MB card is definitely highly recommended as they do rate at a minimum of 4x faster than the 128MB. You should be able to find that card for around $120. I recently purchased from an online retailer named Provantage who stock some of these cards for the lowest prices I've seen on the net. They didn't charge me any tax (I live in CA) and only charged the base shipping fee.

[kneibert]

I've been using a Panasonic 32MB card in my E310 for about 8 months, and haven't had any problems with it. I also have two Sandisk 64MB cards that I use interchangeably in my Panasonic digital voice recorder, and I haven't had any problems there either. I'm trying to decide whether to spring for the Sandisk Connect SD wi-fi card (without memory) in March, or wait until the integrated 128MB wi-fi cards ship later this year.

[Janak Parekh]

Just realized in looking at those percentages that SanDisk, while the most used, is not exactly dominating on the scale I would have guessed.

People like to say that the random problems we hear about SanDisk is due to the them being the dominant brand, but those percentages are certainly not consistent with that theory...
Or maybe the readers of this board proactively avoid Sandisk ;)

In any case, my Sandisk card works fine in my Casio Exilim and on my desktops, but it's occasionally confused in a couple of PDAs I've tried. Not sure what that's supposed to mean, but I think I'll be buying a Lexar 512MB SD just to be on the safe side to replace my slowly-failing Microdrive.

--janak

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Just realized in looking at those percentages that SanDisk, while the most used, is not exactly dominating on the scale I would have guessed.

People like to say that the random problems we hear about SanDisk is due to the them being the dominant brand, but those percentages are certainly not consistent with that theory...
Or maybe the readers of this board proactively avoid Sandisk ;)
You're absolutely right. I think the percentages would favor Sandisk significantly more if this were a general consumer survey. This is exactly why I don't quite buy the, "We hear more forum complaints about SanDisk b/c it's the dominant brand" argument. ;)

...I'll be buying a Lexar 512MB SD just to be on the safe side to replace my slowly-failing Microdrive.
If you go online, try out a retailer called Provantage. Unlike pcmall or ecost, they don't charge up the wazoo for shipping/handling (their shipping charge is rather basic and there's no handling charge) and they didn't charge me tax either. All this on top of the fact that they still have a cheaper base price for their Lexar 512 SD than either of the other two.

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Got the Sandisk 128 card with the Cruzer for $79.99. It's hard to pass on a deal like that and the card works like a charm. I've had a lot of Sandisk products: a 28 meg MMC for my Palm M505, two different Smart Media cards for my digicam, and now the 128 meg card for my Toshiba E330, and truthfully, after all this time, never one single solitary problem with any of them.

Hopefully I'll never have one :)

[dotcomguy]

Got the Sandisk 128 card with the Cruzer for $79.99. It's hard to pass on a deal like that and the card works like a charm. I've had a lot of Sandisk products: a 28 meg MMC for my Palm M505, two different Smart Media cards for my digicam, and now the 128 meg card for my Toshiba E330, and truthfully, after all this time, never one single solitary problem with any of them.

Hopefully I'll never have one :)
Did you *just* get that? If you did, I hate to say it's not that great of a deal. I'm currently looking to get a 256MB SD card with the cruzer for $81, plus there is a $30 rebate available until the end of next week.

[Janak Parekh]

If you go online, try out a retailer called Provantage.
Thanks for the tip. I did in fact run across their price, but didn't realize the bit about shipping.

--janak

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

If you go online, try out a retailer called Provantage.
Thanks for the tip. I did in fact run across their price, but didn't realize the bit about shipping.

--janak
Yeah, if I remember correctly, their base price was about $8-10 cheaper than PCMall/eCost (can't remember which one), their shipping charges was a couple of dollars cheaper, they didn't have a separate handling charge, and they didn't charge me tax... all resulting in savings of at least $30-35.

[alcdroid]

Well, despite the bad press from the boards, i took a leap of faith and bought a sandisk 256Mb SD card. So far so good and I have not had any problems with it (knock on wood!).

Incidently, I got a reasonably good deal for it at ~CDN$140 including taxes and shipping....which is so much better than the ~CDN$200 + taxes locally. The best price I have ever seen in Canada is ~CDN$145 + taxes.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Just as a clarification, my comments regarding SanDisk is certainly not to imply that everyone will have problems with it. They're certainly an attractive option since they're the most readily available and they obviously have the best prices.

I think they do have the most issues (even considering their marketshare of removeable media sold), but nonetheless, I'm sure the majority of folks buying SanDisk will not experience any issues.

[Patt]

alcdroid:

What place did you get the SD card for $140 in Canadian dollars?

Although provantage has a really nice shipping policy for US addresses it really sucks for international orders. I was interested in a 256 lexar SD card: they wanted something like $6.45 to ship to an address in Washington State, but to ship to BC (a province just north of Washington) they wanted $25 US dollars!!!!!! That is about $40 Canadian to me. So, as I asked earlier, what online company was that price from?

Thanks in advance, Patt

[alcdroid]

Patt,

I ordered it from ecost.com when they were selling it for US$74. They use Borderfree to handle shipping to Canada and I piad around CDN$12-13 for shipping and handling and extra for GST/PST. Yeah, that's a lot of extra costs, but the alternative is much more expensive. Larger items are generally not worth buying in this way. I was going to buy the USB card reader for US$19.99, but the shipping and handling cost was way too much....so much that it is actually cheaper to buy it locally.

Cheers!

[Patt]

Thanks for the info. $12-$13 is better than $25 and if the online seller has a good price then it is worth it. I did expect to have to pay GST/PST on top of everything else. One sure needs to know ones prices locally when purchasing stuff online from the US. I guess I should just go and get a US po box or something.


Thanks again, Patt.

[Paul]

It's great to see prices drop for these 256MB SDs. We wanna see the 512MBs drop in price... and where's the 1GB SD???

[taxus]

... has good prices in Canada. That's where I bought my e310 and Sandisk 64MB SD last summer.

Last week they were selling the Sandisk 256MB SD for CDN$120 (while the 128MB was CDN$100). I was just going to click the "buy" button, when my e310 "died". I had then other things in mind than buying a SD card.

It "revived" the following morning, but... [http://www.cendirect.com]Central Direct[/url] didn't have the card in stock anymore.

That's the problem with them. They have pretty good prices, but no stock!

I'm still waiting for them to have some in stock.

[alcdroid]

ahh yes, I almost forgot about Cendirect. That's where I bought my e330! :D Aside from the lack of stock, I am not too happy with the courier they used either (CanPar). I am not usually home and their pickup point is quite a way from my place. But that is just me. They do sell stuff cheap though and they might have stock on 256Mb SD cards in a couple of weeks.

Cheers!

[ux4484]

Got a 256M Sandisk/w/Cruzer for $99- $30 rebate=69.99 from Neutron Express, no problems so far. Have been using Sandisk CF and SM cards for a number of years with no problems.

At work we buy scads (hundreds) of (all types) cards at a time. Sometimes, with big orders some vendors substitute cards. The two times we recieved Simpletech cards (in substitute) they had a (combined) failure rate of 23% within the first month (17% were bad out of the box 8O ). Maybe it was the vendor, but we've had no such failures with Sandisk or Viking card from the same vendor. We now buy ONLY SanDisk or Viking.

[Patt]

I found a local seller in my town that I've ordered a 256 SD (Lexar) card from for $120. I am quite happy with that price. My Future Shop wants $119 for the lexar 128!!! go figure. As someone else said earlier, the price on the 512 and up is still high!!!! My dealer wants $480 for the 512!!
I could buy 4 256's for that!!!!!!


Patt.