Clarification on Difference between SD and MMC cards....

[fk1team]

I want to expand memory RAM on my xda - so have been looking at buying a SD or MMC card for the slot.

My understanding is that SD cards don't allow u to play mp3s downloaded form internet as it has some type of sw protection/security on it, whereas MMC cards are basically the same but withough the protection.

Can someone clear this up for me as I want to dl mp3s to play on my xda.

One further point - are there better (e.g. higher compression without to much loss in sonic quality) file types to use on xda rather than mp3 - if so what sw do I need to make them on my home PC and play them on xda

thanks

[fk1team]

I want to expand memory RAM on my xda - so have been looking at buying a SD or MMC card for the slot.

My understanding is that SD cards don't allow u to play mp3s downloaded form internet as it has some type of sw protection/security on it, whereas MMC cards are basically the same but withough the protection.

Can someone clear this up for me as I want to dl mp3s to play on my xda.

One further point - are there better (e.g. higher compression without to much loss in sonic quality) file types to use on xda rather than mp3 - if so what sw do I need to make them on my home PC and play them on xda

thanks

[Brad Adrian]

You can certainly use SD cards to play MP3s. They simply support additional security features of some applications that MMcs do not.

Many people prefer the MP3 format. However, if space is a consideration, converting files to Windows Media format results in smaller file sizes. Most programs for copying/converting music files, like Music Match Jukebox, allow you to convert to MP3 or Windows Media.

[fk1team]

thanks - 128MB SD card from dabs.com it it then...

==========================================
128MB Secure Digital (SD)
Take more pictures with your digital camera. Fit more E-Books on your PDA or carry more music on your MP3 Player with this massive 128mb SD Expansion Card.
£59.00 (£69.32)==========================================

[griph]

Originally Posted by fk1team

thanks - 128MB SD card from dabs.com it it then...

==========================================
128MB Secure Digital (SD)
Take more pictures with your digital camera. Fit more E-Books on your PDA or carry more music on your MP3 Player with this massive 128mb SD Expansion Card.
£59.00 (£69.32)==========================================

I have just bought a 128mB MMC from Expansys at £55.90 inc VAT and Special Delivery. I already had a 128mB SD card. I have used both to play MP3's though I do not download these from the internet.
I used the SD card with the Ipaq 3870 and had a lot of problems with freezes etc. A MMC however always seemed to behave better. Is there any difference in their performance that would explain why that it. I now use both in the XDA and have yet to see any difference in performance though it is early days for the 128 MMC.

[Eciton]

Never make reliability comments based on an iPAQ 3800 series . The problems with its SD/MMC slot are well known.

SD is faster than MMC, and has a lock switch, which can be useful in certain circumstances. I personally haven't noticed any difference between MMC and SD on my XDA, but in other future devices, as well as desktop card readers, there is a great potential speed difference. Given the negligible price difference, the only reason why you'd go for an MMC is for backward compatibility with any MMC-only devices you may already have. Oh, and MMCs have slightly more available free space on them due to the latent security features on SD - but on a 128MB card this is less than 1%.

HTH

Oh yes, and eXpansys are currently the cheapest in the UK IIRC.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

Keep in mind that 256MB SD cards (and higher) are at least 4x faster than 128MB SD cards.

The 128MB SD cards are not much faster than the MMCs.

[pixiedust4us]

Also, too, let's not forget that this year *rumored* that SD cards will be into the gigabytes as far as storage is concerned. Is anyone using the SoftWinter Storage Tools Application?

[griph]

Originally Posted by Eciton

Never make reliability comments based on an iPAQ 3800 series . The problems with its SD/MMC slot are well known.

SD is faster than MMC, and has a lock switch, which can be useful in certain circumstances. I personally haven't noticed any difference between MMC and SD on my XDA, but in other future devices, as well as desktop card readers, there is a great potential speed difference. Given the negligible price difference, the only reason why you'd go for an MMC is for backward compatibility with any MMC-only devices you may already have. Oh, and MMCs have slightly more available free space on them due to the latent security features on SD - but on a 128MB card this is less than 1%.

HTH

Oh yes, and eXpansys are currently the cheapest in the UK IIRC.

I don't see what is wrong with voicing that I had problems with SD on my 3870 whilst not experiencing problems with MMS - I didn't mention any product by name - and for me one was a problem and the other wasn't - regardless of whether it was machine or card that was at fault. I haven't noticed any down side from going to the MMC - I still use the SD but only for MP3's - the MMC I use for essential memory expansion.

Whilst on the subject of memory - as soon as the warranty on this expires I shall be ordering an upgrade to RAM - has anyone else found anyone cheaper in this respect than going through Expansys - bearing in mind my location?

[Kati Compton]

Originally Posted by griph

I don't see what is wrong with voicing that I had problems with SD on my 3870 whilst not experiencing problems with MMS - I didn't mention any product by name - and for me one was a problem and the other wasn't - regardless of whether it was machine or card that was at fault.

I don't think you were being chastised for your comments, I think that Eciton was just pointing out that the 3800 series is known to have trouble with SD cards, whereas other PPCs it's less of an issue. So your PPCPE probably won't have any trouble, regardless of whether or not the 3870 did.

[Eciton]

Originally Posted by griph

I don't see what is wrong with voicing that I had problems with SD on my 3870 whilst not experiencing problems with MMS - I didn't mention any product by name - and for me one was a problem and the other wasn't - regardless of whether it was machine or card that was at fault. I haven't noticed any down side from going to the MMC - I still use the SD but only for MP3's - the MMC I use for essential memory expansion.

Whilst on the subject of memory - as soon as the warranty on this expires I shall be ordering an upgrade to RAM - has anyone else found anyone cheaper in this respect than going through Expansys - bearing in mind my location?

I didn't mean to imply that you were wrong or anything - only that many users have experienced problems with SD cards disappearing, wiping, losing data and generally dying on the 3800 series, while also skipping in WMP. MMC, as you've noticed, has none of these reliability problems on the 3800. But, this is not a problem with SD, merely the iPAQ, and on other machines SD is not only just as reliable, but also faster for future applications.

With regard to the memory upgrade - eXpansys are charging about ten quid more for the 64MB upgrade than PPCTechs themselves. This makes it pretty reasonable in terms of pricing considering the international shipping you would have to pay to the states. AFAIK eXpansys are the only guys in the UK doing the upgrade. One good thing about the 32MB is that it's taught me to keep my device cleaner and not mess around with so many inessential apps. I'm managing to get by with 32, and I'll probably move to a new device in around six months, so I'm not sure it'll be worth the investment in a RAM upgrade for me personally.