PC World: "SanDisk, Motorola Shrink Memory Cards"

[Jason Dunn]

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114987,tk,dn022604X,00.asp

"At around .5 inches by .4 inches in size, the new cards are smaller than the current champion of miniaturization, the miniSD card, announced less than a year ago. By comparison, miniSD cards measure .8 inches by .7 inches, and weigh about .04 ounces. Memory cards have been getting smaller in size and larger in capacity over the years, but the progress is still not great enough. The new card format is important for phone manufacturers like Motorola because, as phones get smaller, even miniSD card connectors take up too great a proportion of the phone's volume, Radmer says.

This is especially so with the 3G phones announced this week: although the phones are far smaller than their predecessors, Motorola somehow packed a large color screen, two cameras (one for video conferencing, and one with flash), and a 1400 milliamp-hour lithium-ion battery into each phone, leaving no space to be wasted. In these phones, the new memory card is stored behind the battery, next to the SIM (subscriber identity module), a smart card used to identify and authenticate the phone to the network. The memory cards are less than half the size of a SIM."

I usually oppose new memory card formats, but given the location of this one (by the battery, near the SIM), this really isn't designed to be removable storage. It must be somehow cheaper than adding in more Flash ROM on the phone - or perhaps it's just a money play by Motorola and Sandisk. Regardless, I just hope they don't remove the SD card slot - but from the sounds of it, they will. :?

[Jason Dunn]

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114987,tk,dn022604X,00.asp

"At around .5 inches by .4 inches in size, the new cards are smaller than the current champion of miniaturization, the miniSD card, announced less than a year ago. By comparison, miniSD cards measure .8 inches by .7 inches, and weigh about .04 ounces. Memory cards have been getting smaller in size and larger in capacity over the years, but the progress is still not great enough. The new card format is important for phone manufacturers like Motorola because, as phones get smaller, even miniSD card connectors take up too great a proportion of the phone's volume, Radmer says.

This is especially so with the 3G phones announced this week: although the phones are far smaller than their predecessors, Motorola somehow packed a large color screen, two cameras (one for video conferencing, and one with flash), and a 1400 milliamp-hour lithium-ion battery into each phone, leaving no space to be wasted. In these phones, the new memory card is stored behind the battery, next to the SIM (subscriber identity module), a smart card used to identify and authenticate the phone to the network. The memory cards are less than half the size of a SIM."

I usually oppose new memory card formats, but given the location of this one (by the battery, near the SIM), this really isn't designed to be removable storage. It must be somehow cheaper than adding in more Flash ROM on the phone - or perhaps it's just a money play by Motorola and Sandisk. Regardless, I just hope they don't remove the SD card slot - but from the sounds of it, they will. :?

[possmann]

:really mad: NO NO NO!

Not another memory card format - please! :2gunfire: bad Moto - Bad Sandisk!

Why not just focus on packing more into the format we have - make it faster and cheaper! Please!

How small do we really need phones to be before we start implanting them into our bodies - geesh! A regular flip phone is a great size now- but smaller? thinner? How about focusing on the BIGGEST part of the phone first? the battery! Let's see some dramatic improvement there!

sorry - end of rant... i'm better now :snipersmile:

[Mike Temporale]

This memory sounds more like internal RAM rather than expandable flash memory. Kind of like a laptop. The memory can be expanded, but it's not easily accessible. So your phone would ship with 64 Meg RAM, but you could pop it out and up it to 128 or 256. If this is the route they are going, then this is very cool. But please don't drop the removable flash memory.

[Phoenix]

Yes, indeed, Moto, don't you dare take out the SD slot!... OK, well, at least not on the MPx300, kaaaaaaaaaayyyyy???

:beer:

[xendula]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

I usually oppose new memory card formats, but given the location of this one (by the battery, near the SIM), this really isn't designed to be removable storage.

Not necessarily. In order to change the MMC (to play another game or listen to different music) of the N-gage, the battery has to be removed as well, even though the MMC slot is NEXT TO the battery. I think a possible reason for not having an easier accessible slot at the outside is avoiding dirt or dust inside the unit.

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by xendula

Not necessarily. In order to change the MMC (to play another game or listen to different music) of the N-gage, the battery has to be removed as well, even though the MMC slot is NEXT TO the battery. I think a possible reason for not having an easier accessible slot at the outside is avoiding dirt or dust inside the unit.

Um...ask how many N-Gage owners if they think it's easy and fast to put in a new "cartridge" :wink: and you'll understand my point. Yes, it's POSSIBLE, but it's a pain to do, unlike external slots. I've never had dirt or dust issues with memory cards in years of using mobile devices...

[xendula]

I am an N-gage owner (after I lost my T610 a week after getting it) and you're right, it's a pain in the a** to change cards. I don't see any other reason to put the slot inside other than the dirt issue. They must have thought SOMETHING when developing this device - or so I hope :?

[Phoenix]

And keep in mind the target audience for an NGage. An NGage isn't exactly the most sophisticated device, IMO. Most people (and I say most, not all, so for those who own an NGage, please don't take offense), but probably most who buy an NGage are more likely looking at it primarily for the games and so forth, rather than a serious productivity tool, meaning that they're most likely much younger and therefore a bit more careless about their electronics. Younger audiences tend to treat their devices like hockey pucks, which could explain a need for protection from dirt and other foreign objects.