MicroSD Cards Big in Japan? Akihabara News Thinks Not

[Jonathon Watkins]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/news-10803-The+MicroSd%27s+are+available+at+ADTEC.html' target='_blank'>http://www.akihabaranews.com/en/new...e+at+ADTEC.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Don't know about you, but I'm getting really tired of getting a new card format every three months. A scary evolution and for every new phone generation in Japan, you have to get a new card format. I really don't see the point of all this? What's the point in making them smaller and smaller when onboard memory would be so much easier? I thought the SD's were already quite small, I lost 3 of them (2 256MB's and a 1GB card), so I won't even start to imagine what will happen with these MicroSD's!"</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/mmsd_003.jpg" /> <br /><br />Akihabara News was actually reporting that ADTEC have released 64Mb and 128Mbs Micro SD cards (w00t). However, they got a bit sidetracked with a (justified) rant about the proliferation of memory card formats. If the device you want doesn't support your currently memory cards then what do you do? Heck, I'm still hoping my next Pocket PC will have a CF slot. :P A SD slot used to be a mandatory item, but now I'm dodging Mini SD devices. At least Micro SD is keeping it in the family? Bah Humbug. :? For those of you that just love having Japanese fonts displayed in your browser, the full ADTEC press release is <a href="http://www.adtec.co.jp/pressrelease/2005/051209/">here</a>.

[beq]

I'm still interested in finding out more about the available options for MicroSD (max capacity, adapters).

1) My next phone (Motorola Razr V3i) will have MicroSD/TransFlash slot.

2) I want to know if there will be a MicroSD-to-MiniSD adapter (I already know there's a MiniSD-to-SD adapter).

3) I want to know if there will be a MicroSD-to-Memory Stick Duo adapter! I don't see why not since MS Duo isn't that much smaller than a full size SD right? At the very least a MicroSD-to-MS (full size) adapter should be a no brainer too. I'm not sure about a MiniSD-to-MS Duo adapter though.

With #3 I can more easily accept MS Duo gadgets because I would be able to just use one memory card format: MicroSD :D By gadgets I mean Sony PSP, digicams (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=45010), etc.

Then again, I'm also feeling somewhat more repulsed of Sony gadgets because of their rootkit tactics :evil:

[jlp]

I don't understand how engineers can be so stupid enough as to make devices that use these SUB-STANDARD cards and that are incompatible with millions of SD cards out there :evil:.

The most important question to ask is: what are the ACTUAL advantages and disadvantages of these SUB-STANDARD (in every sense of the words) cards?

Compared to the size of the device they fit in, SD, microSD and miniSD cards are only A TINY FRACTION OF THE WHOLE DEVICE VOLUME!!

This is the only and virtually useless advantage: saving around a singly tiny percent of the whole device!! Even less than one percent in PDAs.

For what MANY DISADVANTAGES :evil: :

How good a commercial argument this would be, from say, Motorola who favors microSD sub-standard cards:

"We are VERY sorry, but because our STUPID engineers chose to implement the WORST storage card technology available today, you will be severly restricted in your storage possibilities:
you have at best 8 times less storage capacity to store your favorite music, movies and pictures (microSD=512MB vs. SD=4GB)
of the many standard cards you may already own (digicam, moviecam, PDA, MP3 player, etc.), NONE will fit into this device
you will need yo buy many more sub-standard cards if you wish to exchange data between this device and all those you probably already own
your pictures will take up to 10x more time to be saved to the card
your movies will take up to 1 min or even a lot more time to be saved to the card
your cards will cost you more
you will be severly restricted to find new cards
the maximum card capacity (technology limit) will be a lot less than that of competing products (sub-standard miniSD=4GB vs. standard SD=32GB)
etc."

See here for more details (http://minicards.boycott-it.info) AND a way to VOICE your concerns to manufacturers.

[Jonathon Watkins]

See here for more details (http://minicards.boycott-it.info) AND a way to VOICE your concerns to manufacturers.

Interesting idea, but that site only seems to be partially built.

[yada88]

These look to be the exact same form factor of transflash cards, but transflash has higher capacities. What's the difference?

[Jonathon Watkins]

These look to be the exact same form factor of transflash cards, but transflash has higher capacities. What's the difference?

None. Transflash was rebranded as Micro SD (http://www.supermediastore.com/micro-sd-card-microsd-trans-flash-memory-card.html). :?

[yada88]

thanks for the info. and yes, thats stupid.

[jlp]

See here for more details (http://minicards.boycott-it.info) AND a way to VOICE your concerns to manufacturers.

Interesting idea, but that site only seems to be partially built.

That's right, it's my site and I just started it and do it in very part-time way... :|

[Steve Jordan]

I agree with the original writer's concerns: There's a point at which these things get too small. Then they're too easy to lose, and the PPC market has yet to come up with a useful and effective dingus for people to carry all those cards in.

I hope I never have to keep track of anything smaller than an SD card. When your memory gets that small, just embed it!

[rabilancia]

...
1) My next phone (Motorola Razr V3i) will have MicroSD/TransFlash slot.
...

FWIW, I just got an evaluation of the just released Motorola v360 phone from T-Mobile. I was surprised to see it includes both a MicroSD/TransFlash slot and an integrated MP3 player. The phone comes with a SanDisk 64MB MicroSD/TransFlash card as well as a SanDisk SD adapter. The phone connects via a mini-USB cable enabling the MicroSD/TransFlash card to be mounted by Windows XP as a removable drive--nicely convenient.

I agree that these things are way too small if you plan to carry them around in anything but a slot in a device. However, once they are in place in a device they enable engineers to create devices that otherwise would be considerably larger.

Rich

[beq]

...
1) My next phone (Motorola Razr V3i) will have MicroSD/TransFlash slot.
...
FWIW, I just got an evaluation of the just released Motorola v360 phone from T-Mobile. I was surprised to see it includes both a MicroSD/TransFlash slot and an integrated MP3 player. The phone comes with a SanDisk 64MB MicroSD/TransFlash card as well as a SanDisk SD adapter. The phone connects via a mini-USB cable enabling the MicroSD/TransFlash card to be mounted by Windows XP as a removable drive--nicely convenient.

I agree that these things are way too small if you plan to carry them around in anything but a slot in a device. However, once they are in place in a device they enable engineers to create devices that otherwise would be considerably larger.
Yeah, the new "Razr 2" (Motorola Razr V3i) has either a built-in iTunes player or an MP3 player (they have alternative software depending on the carrier's choice). Basically the same formfactor/size as the current ultra-slim Razr. I think it's what the original Motorola Rokr (the much hyped iTunes phone) tried to be and had failed :)

[Don't Panic!]

If the only option for new Pocket PC/Windows Mobile devices were mini sd cards then I'd just stick with the older generation devices. I too have lost an sd card. I can just imagine how easy it would be to lose a mini sd. I'm a "Bigger is Better" school of thought kind of guy. I liked the iPaqs with dual PCMCIA expansion sleeve.

[Jonathon Watkins]

... once they are in place in a device they enable engineers to create devices that otherwise would be considerably larger.

Rich, we are talking about a differnce of a few square milimeters. :)

I would Gladly have a device a few mm2 larger in order to have a real SD card. 8)