SanDisk WiFi Card on an SD

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10110' target='_blank'>http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10110</a><br /><br /></div>"Sandisk is doing some very interesting things these days. While its core focus is "solid state" memory they've added the words Wi-Fi and combo to their vocabulary. I stumbled into its PR office at CeBIT and the folks there were nice enough to give me the pitch rather than throwing me out. <br />Currently, SanDisk is shipping a CompactFlash (CF) form factor 802.11b card for PDAs and they will soon be shipping a "combo" card that integrates a SD slot into the CF thing, if memory serves. Price of $129, so you can have both WiFi and a second media type, not a bad thing for folks who have multiple mini-media types floating about. <br /><br />Of a more "Q" type of flavor was the SD-slot sized WiFi card. Yes, you read that right, they've put a full 802.11b implementation into something a little larger than an SD card; there's a little nub on top with a red light to indicate activity, but it's fully function. It is also supposed to come out in a combo-card flavor, so you can have connectivity and be able to still have an SD card riding along (after all, currently PDAs only come with a single SD card slot). Only catch is that the SD WiFi card needs to go into an SD/IO slot and there are but a handful of PDAs that have implemented the functionality."

[trachy]

I'm glad to see integration like this taking place, but I just don't understand why more PPC manufacturers don't integrate wifi and bluetooth into their devices like HP does the 5450. With Sandisk fitting both storage and wifi onto an SD card, size obviously isn't the issue. So then it must be cost, right? I doubt that too. It can't cost the manufacturer very much to incorporate wireless technologies into their devices. Someone enlighten me...

[yawanag]

"Only catch is that the SD WiFi card needs to go into an SD/IO slot and there are but a handful of PDAs that have implemented the functionality."

I was salivating until I read the above. Pity me.

[Jonathon Watkins]

Still, the cards are getting here. Now we just need to wait for PPC manufacturers to go fully to SIDO slots.......

[pschultz]

Currently, SanDisk is shipping a CompactFlash (CF) form factor 802.11b card for PDAs and they will soon be shipping a "combo" card that integrates a SD slot into the CF thing, if memory serves. Price of $129, so you can have both WiFi and a second media type, not a bad thing for folks who have multiple mini-media types floating about.
So there is an SD slot inside the CF card?

[jkabaseball]

thats what it sounds like :wink: how about a wifi/bluetooth combo!

[Xanadu]

So then it must be cost, right? I doubt that too. It can't cost the manufacturer very much to incorporate wireless technologies into their devices. Someone enlighten me...

Perhaps the cost comes from the extra hardware/software to prevent WiFi and BT from interfering due to their shared frequencies.

Then again, perhaps built-in WiFi might just be one of the last features to justify HP's top-of-the-line $600+ price point. If you give your lower products WiFi, how much would people pay for an extra 64MB or RAM and a biometric scanner? Presumably not an additional $200. :roll:

People here and elsewhere have bemoaned a lack of innovation in HP's PPC offerings. Given the above, I suspect similar thoughts are consuming HP's engineers and marketers.

-Xan

[Christian]

I am a bit worried about the fact that Sandisk is coming out with a "combo" CF WiFi card that has 128 MB of memory built in (not an SD slot), as well as an SDIO "combo" WiFi card that has 256 MB of memory built in. Its certainly possible that the same company is developing two different products with the same name but it does raise doubts in my mind...

[Fzara]

I'm just happy that the CF cards and the SD cards prices are going lower and lower and lower..and lower...and lower :mrgreen:

[fyiguy]

thats what it sounds like :wink: how about a wifi/bluetooth combo!

I had also talked to Mike and Dave from SanDisk and they said there isn't much market demand for a Bluetooth/wifi combo or a bluetooth/memory combo at this time, since most newer PocketPCs will be featuring at least one of these forms of communication. They are basically focusing on just the WiFi Combo cards at present time. The CF WiFi combo is due to be release in July and we should see the SD version this fall. They had the SD version in their press room for the first day of CeBIT only and it looked like your average SD/IO card and it was working with their current drivers.

On a side note the folks from Viewsonic should be releasing their version of an SD/IO WiFi card around the same timeframe...

I have some pictures and some info on what I saw at CeBIT here (http://www.bostonpocketpc.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1542&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0) and here (http://www.bostonpocketpc.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1543&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0) if you are interested.

:mrgreen:

[maximus]

I almost wish that sandisk to release a combo GPRS+Wifi+1GB CF card.
Or better, a combo GPRS+Wifi+512MB SD card.

And the GPRS+Wifi+512MB SD combo is priced at $200.

That will be the day when I spend $200 without looking back.

[clinte]

These WiFi SDIO cards are being announced as if they are new. These cards have been delayed several times but it's good to see that they are finaly appearing on the market.

[clinte]

-Hagiwara Sys-Com plans to release both Secure Digital (SD) and Memory Stick (MS) Bluetooth and WiFi cards this year.
-SandiskSocket, Socket, ViewSonic and SyChip will all come with WiFi SDIO Cards (based on SyChip SD Card).
-Anycom said awhile back that they would release a Bluetooth SD card. Licensed from Toshiba the card would be smaller than current cards and will cost $109.
-Uniden has said that it is working on a Secure Digital Bluetooth card that will cost less than $50.

Both Palm and Toshiba have already Bluetooth Cards based on SD. Palm has not a Bluetooth Card based on there Palm OS5 (yet!). Toshiba's Bluetooth SD Cards seem to work with there on models only.

Curious what kind of new SDIO products we will see in the future.