CF or SD card for hx4700 ?

[MTHall49]

I am confused here.
As a general rule, is it better to store Data on a SD card, and Pics on a CF card? Or really no difference.

I am also confused about how to say which CF card I mean. Looking on eBay it seemed like I kept getting CF Type 2 cards that were made for cameras instead of PDA.

Thanks everyone.

[SteveHoward999]

Shouldn't matter. Data is data. I use the CF and SD cards in my E830 for whatever a feel like.

According to this page, http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/ipaqmobile/hx4700/other.html, the CF slot in your PDA is Type II, so you can use those cards. The cards ar marketed as for cameras because they are the main devices around that still use CF cards. I have an 8Gb Type II CF card in my PDA, works just fine.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I have both CF I and CF II cards, and they can be used interchangeably on my PDA. CF II cards are typically I/O type cards, not flash memory e.g. microdrives, PCMCIA adapters, ethernet cards and so forth. If the CF slot on your device appears to have a long notch at the top i.e. inserting a flash card leaves a gap in the slot, then the slot is designed for both CF I and CF II.

[Hx4700]

I use a 2gig SD as a mostly permanent storage of data and maps.
This saves the CF slot for add on activities as I need them - GPS card, NIC card, 56k modem card (blah- for hotels without other connections) or a 8gig microdrive with movies. Note only one of the above CF cards would normally be needed at the same time.
Ron...

[Russ Smith]

As others have said, either will work just fine, but here are a few things to consider:

There aren't a lot of SD options other than memory. The hx4700 supports SDIO so you could use a GPS unit, but you'll probably be using it for storage. There are many more options that come in CF format.

On the other hand, CF cards can come in considerably higher capacities. Currently the SD slot doesn't support SDHC cards, so the upper limit is 4GB. You can, however, get a 16GB CF card that will work in the CF slot.

What I do is use a 4GB SD card for installing applications and some data. It's pretty much always in the machine. I use the CF slot, along with some adapter cards to read xD Picture cards and Memory Sticks. I also have an 8GB CF card with my entertainment files (videos, e-books, etc.) I have a CF modem and a CF wired Ethernet card as well, but I hardly ever use them any more.

[SteveHoward999]

I have a CF modem and a CF wired Ethernet card as well, but I hardly ever use them any more.

The only CF add-on I ever used was a GPS unit. But now, with a more powerful Bluetooth GPS unit, I have no need to use the CF slot for anything but data.

But you make a good point - if there is a chance you'll use an add-on device in one of the card slots, that will steer your decision on how you use those slots.

I just looked ... eBay has 16 Gb CF cards as cheap as $107 ... WOW. Looks like I could shoot for a cheap upgrade!!! :-D

[MTHall49]

Thanks for everyone's replies. I didn't realize there were replies since I can't seem to get my email address updated on the forum.

So, if a CF Type 2 card says for a camera, then it probably is fine for the HP too?

[SteveHoward999]

So, if a CF Type 2 card says for a camera, then it probably is fine for the HP too?

Yes. The camera part is irrelevant. All you care about is ... is it a CF card? :-)

[buzzard]

My 4700 may have been an oddball but several times it "launched" the SD card out of the slot and when I decided to replace it with the blank that came with the 4700 it fired that out as well. It must have had an overactive spring. :lol: I've used CF cards since then.

[VulcanTourist]

There's another potential issue: the SD slots/cards MAY draw an abnormal amount of power, at least in the hx4700. I've heard this alleged in another forum, and it sounded crazy at the time... I mean, SD cards are flash that doesn't require constant power, right? However, now I've bought a Transcend 150X 4GB SD card to replace my aging 4GB CF microdrive, and I'm starting to see massive battery drain... the battery lasts maybe two hours tops now. I haven't fully tested this theory yet, but be warned....
:|


BTW, the next iteration of Kozhura's cooked Windows Mobile 6 ROM for hx4700s may have SDHC support in it. Apparently the only thing missing to enable it is firmware, and he's in a position to cook it right in.

[Russ Smith]

I think the "SD drawing power constantly" issue was related to not doing a complete clear of memory after doing the ROM upgrade (or restoring a backup after doing the upgrade). That always results in odd things happening. In the one case I experienced, my hx4700 would not recognize the built-in backup battery. (It always looked like it was completely drained.) I'm not seeing any massive drain with my SD card using Release 4 of Kozhura's WM6 ROM. (I've also updated the ROM image to use a 16MB PagePool too. I can't say I've noticed much of a speed increase with that, though.)

[VulcanTourist]

Russ, I'm using the same ROM you are, minus the Pagepool tweak. Whether it's the ROM at fault or the SD card, the guilty party will find itself in the brig! I've also had other problems, like a "white screen of death" out of the blue, which required a hard reset to stop.

[Russ Smith]

I've been extremely lucky (or something). The only issue I had was the one I mentioned. I few white hairs as a result, but solved.

Now if I could only "solve" synching :roll:

[VulcanTourist]

Syncing is now another thing that is giving me hell! Ever since I had to install ActiveSync 4.5 , it seems, ALL of my removable USB devices eventually get ****ed-up and aren't recognized after a certain number of removals and reattachments! Only a reboot (not even a logout) will temporarily stop it. At first I thought the problem was limited to the iPAQ, and I thought it had something to do with a borderline connector, but then I discovered that my removable card reader and other USB devices were having the same problem. It has absolutely nothing to do with the WM6 ROM.

I don't know who else has noticed, but the tail end of the AS 4.5 installation is dominated by a very lengthy phase where it claims to be "updating USB drivers". Anyone wanna lay odds on that being the direct cause of this problem? Once again, Microsoft f**ks its own customers!