When Two Worlds Collide: Hello SD/USB Incarnation!

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.everythingusb.com/news/index/5929.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.everythingusb.com/news/index/5929.htm</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20041223-SDUSB.jpg" /><br /><br />Want SD? You got it! Want USB? Heck, you can have that too! Digimaster (Taiwan) have just released an SD/USB creation: one end inserts into your SD slot, the other end inserts into your USB slot (USB 2.0 compatibility). Something like this would work great on the Pocket PC, especially when you need to offload files to your PC on-the-go. It is available in two flavours - a 128MB one which retails for approximately US$27.00, and a 256MB one which retails for approximately US$39.00. Anybody interested?

[Pat Logsdon]

Genius. Goodbye converter!

[Craig Horlacher]

You also loose that much fatter than it needs to be typical usb flash housing...it's nice and thin like SD!!!

[applejosh]

I don't know if I'd like the USB connector sticking out the top of my iPAQ, but the concept of the device is pretty cool (and not expensive, either). I wonder how fast it is on the SD side.

[Pat Logsdon]

I don't know if I'd like the USB connector sticking out the top of my iPAQ
That's what I thought at first, too, but if you look at it, the SD part is shorter than a typical SD card. My guess is that it's exactly the same size as a normal SD card.

[seeker]

I hope that it is really a transition or transfer tool. That is to say it can be plugged into the PPC and select files "transferred" to the tool. It would then be removed from the PPC and pulbbed into the deskop USB port and the final transfer completed. Or the reverse process to inbound files.

This way the "ugly look" is a temporary bother and for the purpose of using the tool only.

What do you think?

:?:

[dazz]

I don't think this would work well. Most likely the height of your USB and SD slots are going to be different and you will be putting strain on a rather thin piece of plastic.

I'll pass.

[seeker]

I believe Dazz is correct.

That is why I began to think of this as a transition or transfer tool.

The Desktop with its USB or even a free standing hub would not be incontact with the PPC and the tool at the same time.

This appears to be a valid interpretation of the devices use as the manufacturer says that it could be used with Digital Camera and we know that this will not fit both a digital camera slot and a USB slot at the same time due to conflicts in angles.
:)
Just my thought.
:)

[WyattEarp]

That is really cool :way to go: ,one less device to carry around. I wonder if any other companies will try this.

[Alpha2004]

just get a decent sd card and a jumpdrive trio....

[OSUKid7]

I don't know if I'd like the USB connector sticking out the top of my iPAQ
That's what I thought at first, too, but if you look at it, the SD part is shorter than a typical SD card. My guess is that it's exactly the same size as a normal SD card.
Ah, glad you said that...I was thinking the same thing, with it sticking out of my iPAQ. Glad to see that it won't do that. :) Now if they offer it in higher capacities, I'll consider getting one. :)

[Darius Wey]

I hope that it is really a transition or transfer tool. That is to say it can be plugged into the PPC and select files "transferred" to the tool. It would then be removed from the PPC and pulbbed into the deskop USB port and the final transfer completed. Or the reverse process to inbound files.

I think that is the concept of this creation. It acts like a normal SD, and when plugged into a USB slot, it acts like a removable storage disk. So if you wanted to transfer files from PPC to PC, it's only a matter of opening up a file browser and doing the standard cut and paste.

[Darius Wey]

That's what I thought at first, too, but if you look at it, the SD part is shorter than a typical SD card. My guess is that it's exactly the same size as a normal SD card.

It appears to be a good guess. Judging by the picture, the width and length of the SD body are almost identical, so it mimics the shape of a square. As for the USB connector, it sits on top. I think if there was to be a protrusion, it would only be ever so slight.

[Darius Wey]

Now if they offer it in higher capacities, I'll consider getting one. :)

Yes. 128MB and 256MB is a little lacklustre for the high-demanding user. However, if it proves to be a success, I can certainly see 512MB and 1GB (perhaps even 2GB) ones being offered in the near future. We'll see... ;)

[jasondearyou]

thats the coolest thing since sd 802.11beautiful..... they now need to increase the size and we'll be straight. 0X

[cng]

Call me stupid but I think the USB can be like pocket drive. Also, cant you get a converter and change it so its the female side and then maybe do usb hosting? =O

Lots of coding for that to ever happen.....

[Darius Wey]

Call me stupid but I think the USB can be like pocket drive.

That brings forth an interesting thought. Which would be the more innovative? (a) Retain the current use of SD cards in PDAs and use something like this SD/USB creation to enhance connectivity between PPC and PC, or (b) Start incorporating UFC slots into PDAs and use UFC disks instead.

The mind boggles. ;)

[jt3]

The only thing that would worry me would be static electricity. It's one thing to avoid the metal contacts of an SD card, but this thing has metal contacts at both ends. I'd hate to zap my data accidentally, especially if this thing IS the same size as a standard SD card, and you end up touching the USB contacts as you press down on the card to release it out of your PDA.

Still... I don't do flash cards below 512MB, so get this baby up to a decent capacity, and I'd certainly have to consider it.

[kzemach]

I love it. I have a jumpdrive Trio as noted by someone else (which I LOVE by the way), but sometimes I just have my smartphone with me. And if I had this in my SD slot, then if I wanted to grab files from someone, then they wouldn't have to have a jumpdrive or SD PC card as well. Regardless of capacity, I will buy one of these.

[webdaemon]

The exposed metal contacts are my main problem with SD cards. With exposed contacts on both sides of the card?

I have a jump drive trio and it's so small I lost it. I know it's in a pocket or bag somewhere, I just haven;t found it yet.

This thing looks even smaller than the trio so I know I'll loose that.

I love the concept but it needs some kind of casing....

[humayunl]

With bluetooth showing up in most newer devices (laptops, ppcs etc.) i wonder if such solutions have a really long life.

so far my experience with bluetooth has been 50/50. Some devices talk to each ot her, the different stacks have their own quirks etc. So i would consider an SD/USB solution just to make sure when i want information transferred, it is transferred. But eventually i expect BT to be 100% reliable and compatible across all devices and when that is a reality, why would anyone want to carry anything extra to do what's possible wireless-ly (is that a word? :)

[Darius Wey]

But eventually i expect BT to be 100% reliable and compatible across all devices and when that is a reality, why would anyone want to carry anything extra to do what's possible wireless-ly (is that a word? :)

Two words: transfer speed. ;)

You raise a good point though.

[V-iPAQ]

I don't see how this could be superior to just carrying a small USB card reader costs five dollars and looks much more durable.

[ChuckyRose]

Um, I'm not sure it this is correct, but I think it's not a "linking" tool to link two devices through SD and USB, but it's like a memory card with two different interfaces. One memory card, two ways to interface with it - USB or SD. So I don't think you can have it hooked up with both interfaces at the same time to make a "bridge" between two devices. It's just a memory card with two ways to access it. I was confused at first, but I think that's what it is. I'm not sure if everyone seems to understand that.

ChuckyRose

[Darius Wey]

Um, I'm not sure it this is correct, but I think it's not a "linking" tool to link two devices through SD and USB, but it's like a memory card with two different interfaces. One memory card, two ways to interface with it - USB or SD. So I don't think you can have it hooked up with both interfaces at the same time to make a "bridge" between two devices. It's just a memory card with two ways to access it. I was confused at first, but I think that's what it is. I'm not sure if everyone seems to understand that.

Your perception is correct. It's designed to be a form of memory which you can connect to an SD slot or a USB slot when you need to use it. It's definitely not a networking tool - besides, if it was, um.... it doesn't really offer a lot of breathing room between the two devices (if any). ;)

[Jason Lee]

I'd buy one. I would prefer atleast 512. I am in the market for a 1GB card right now. I would love to have one of these. I would never have to carry a card reader again!!! WOOT!

[felixdd]

This concept, if it catches on with other companies, will absolutely kill the Tungsten T5's flash card reader "feature".
Imagine...for CF cards you can have a retractable USB plug instead of something that protrudes. And it's definitely doable up to 256 MB at least, because if you look at a transflash card...it's quite small.

[webdaemon]

I'm not too worried about having a card reader for my laptop. I have a PCMCIA adapter/reader and since it's always in my laptop, I always have it. :)

[delfuhd]

one word: Groovy

[kelevil]

that's a very smart idea... but more and more computers have sd slots nowadays.

curious:
what happens when you have the sd card in your pda and have the usb side stuck into your computer?

[ctmagnus]

curious:
what happens when you have the sd card in your pda and have the usb side stuck into your computer?

The SD portion of this card is smaller than most SD cards so that the length of this card, including the USB connector, is the same as the length of most SD cards. In other words, it ain't gonna happen ;)

[Typhoon]

Isn't that why you get an extension cord? Well, anyways... it sounds like a really good concept. Now users can have both.

BUT HEY...what is that device in the picture being hooked up? A USB HDD?

[OSUKid7]

BUT HEY...what is that device in the picture being hooked up? A USB HDD?
Looks like a laptop.

[Darius Wey]

Isn't that why you get an extension cord?

An extension cord? Where would it go whilst it was connected to the PDA? :?

[Typhoon]

Isn't that why you get an extension cord?

An extension cord? Where would it go whilst it was connected to the PDA? :?

Sorry, I thought it was a logical idea...

[Darius Wey]

Sorry, I thought it was a logical idea...

It would work if the USB connector protruded entirely, but then I suppose it's a good thing that it doesn't. ;)

[beq]

Wow I love the idea (if they can do at least 1GB at current top speeds)!

But one thing, how does the USB connector end plug into a normal USB port? An SD card is much thinner than a normal USB connector (that's why the UFC card is like twice as thick as SD right?).

So if the USB connector on this card is really thin, wouldn't it just fall off the USB port, since there would be no contact friction?

[Darius Wey]

But one thing, how does the USB connector end plug into a normal USB port? An SD card is much thinner than a normal USB connector (that's why the UFC card is like twice as thick as SD right?).

So if the USB connector on this card is really thin, wouldn't it just fall off the USB port, since there would be no contact friction?

The main contact friction is actually within the USB connector itself. If you look at the USB plug head on, you will notice a solid bit covering half of it, and an empty bit covering the other half. The USB connector on this SD/USB card would plug into the empty bit and would effectively sit in there. The external metal part of the standard USB connector is only there to keep everything housed.

[beq]

But one thing, how does the USB connector end plug into a normal USB port? An SD card is much thinner than a normal USB connector (that's why the UFC card is like twice as thick as SD right?).

So if the USB connector on this card is really thin, wouldn't it just fall off the USB port, since there would be no contact friction?

The main contact friction is actually within the USB connector itself. If you look at the USB plug head on, you will notice a solid bit covering half of it, and an empty bit covering the other half. The USB connector on this SD/USB card would plug into the empty bit and would effectively sit in there. The external metal part of the standard USB connector is only there to keep everything housed.

I see, that makes sense, thanks.

Do you think the USB connector on this SD card is exactly the same dimensions as the solid white bit of the standard USB connector, just minus the metalic housing? If so, won't there be some horizontal leeway when plugged into a USB port (leeway where the metallic housing of the connector normally takes up space)? In this case, would it be possible for the USB connector on the SD card to be inserted such that the metallic pin stripes are mated not to the appropriate pins on the USB port, but to the adjacent pins?

Also, are you sure that without the housing on the USB connector of the SD card, that it can still maintain a tight fit in a USB port? My concern is that the tight fit is only achieved because of the housing on a normal USB connector. It's hard to explain... I just looked at the normal USB mating process and try to imagine the connector without the metallic housing...

Sorry, I didn't mean to get too nit-picky without knowing any real details, but after you got me to actually look at the USB connector/port, these questions came to mind :)

P.S. Assuming there's no problem here, I wonder why UFC doesn't do the same thing (remove the metallic housing on their USB connector so as to be able to make the UFC formfactor about the same thickness as SD)? That would've given it better prospects IMHO, as I still think the extreme thickness of UFC presents challenges to include the slot in PDAs and other portable gadgets.

[Darius Wey]

Sorry, I didn't mean to get too nit-picky without knowing any real details, but after you got me to actually look at the USB connector/port, these questions came to mind :)

Nah... That's alright. Questions make great discussion. It's good to be curious. :)

With respect to the horizontal leeway, I doubt they would leave room for it to shift around loosely. As a manufacturer, they would most probably have taken this into consideration before releasing it as a possible concept, although that's no guarantee. My guess would be that the slight compensatory edging as seen in the picture helps it avoid horizontal shifting whilst sitting in the USB port.

I can understand why you think it would sit loosely. I've curiously analysed the USB ports and plugs too, but it does seem to be able to form a tight fit, but that's just my perception. I don't have this on me at the moment so I can't test it out.

Assuming there's no problem here, I wonder why UFC doesn't do the same thing (remove the metallic housing on their USB connector so as to be able to make the UFC formfactor about the same thickness as SD)? That would've given it better prospects IMHO, as I still think the extreme thickness of UFC presents challenges to include the slot in PDAs and other portable gadgets.

The UFC is an entirely different concept altogether. Like other flash formats, each one differs in shape, size, among others. Lexar's conception of the UFC may have taken into consideration the factor of "brittleness" (for a potential memory format). By providing a slightly thicker form factor, it can add to the "strength" of the build, thus likening it to a USB disk. Compare a USB disk and something as thin as an SD card, and I'm sure you'd agree the former appears a little more "rugged". Perhaps Lexar decided to make this compromise and opt for a thicker form factor for those very reasons, although I can't say for sure since I haven't asked them. ;) Besides, I'm interested to see how far UFC goes in the market.

[dean_shan]

That's an awsome idea. I want one.