SanDisk's 6 GB microSD: Big Storage, Small Package

[Jason Dunn]

When Toronto-based online gadget store Softpocket emailed me to let me know that they had SanDisk's 6 GB microSD card in stock for $99 CAD, my response was "Hey, send me one to look at!". Up until that point, I hadn't seen any of their microSDHC cards, and I wasn't actually sure which devices it would work in. There's been a lot of confusion over which Windows Mobile devices actually support SDHC, because it seems to be a little detail many specification sheets leave out. I tested it with the devices I had, and the results were as follows:

• AT&T Tilt: Works, 5821 MB reported
• HTC Touch: Works, 5821 MB reported
• HTC Dual: Works, 5821 MB reported (though it felt like I was slumming because I had to take out an 8 GB SanDisk microSD to test the 6 GB microSD!)
• T-Mobile Dash: Works, 5821 MB reported
• iPAQ 100 Series: Works, 5821 MB reported (put microSD into SD card adaptor)
  
• i-Mate Jasjar: Doesn't work (no surprise there)
  

You can see the pattern that all of the modern devices work with the 6 GB microSD card, and the older device does not.

 

If you were to go back in time ten years and say that 6 GB of storage could balance on someone's pinky fingernail, they'd tell you you were crazy. Yet here we are! Amazing.

In terms of performance, moving 905 MB of data to to the card (the scenario where you're loading it up with music or videos) via the MicroMate adaptor plugged into my monitor's USB port, I saw write speeds peak at around 7 MB/s, but average about 4.5 MB/s. That means if you're going to put 6 GB of music on there, expect it to take a little while. Pulling data from the card, say offloading pictures or videos you've taken with your device, I saw speeds peak at around 10 MB/s, and average out to about 8 MB/s. The reality is that no Windows Mobile device today can saturate the read/write speeds of a modern day memory card, so on-device performance will always be as fast as the device can handle.

In every way the memory card performed exactly as you'd expect. If you'd like to pick up one for yourself, Softpocket has them for $99 CAD.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. It's been a rough week.

[Jason Dunn]

When Toronto-based online gadget store Softpocket emailed me to let me know that they had SanDisk's 6 GB microSD card in stock for $99 CAD, my response was "Hey, send me one to look at!". Up until that point, I hadn't seen any of their microSDHC cards, and I wasn't actually sure which devices it would work in. There's been a lot of confusion over which Windows Mobile devices actually support SDHC, because it seems to be a little detail many specification sheets leave out. I tested it with the devices I had, and the results were as follows:

• AT&T Tilt: Works, 5821 MB reported
• HTC Touch: Works, 5821 MB reported
• HTC Dual: Works, 5821 MB reported (though it felt like I was slumming because I had to take out an 8 GB SanDisk microSD to test the 6 GB microSD!)
• T-Mobile Dash: Works, 5821 MB reported
• iPAQ 100 Series: Works, 5821 MB reported (put microSD into SD card adaptor)
  
• i-Mate Jasjar: Doesn't work (no surprise there)
  

You can see the pattern that all of the modern devices work with the 6 GB microSD card, and the older device does not.

 

If you were to go back in time ten years and say that 6 GB of storage could balance on someone's pinky fingernail, they'd tell you you were crazy. Yet here we are! Amazing.

In terms of performance, moving 905 MB of data to to the card (the scenario where you're loading it up with music or videos) via the MicroMate adaptor plugged into my monitor's USB port, I saw write speeds peak at around 7 MB/s, but average about 4.5 MB/s. That means if you're going to put 6 GB of music on there, expect it to take a little while. Pulling data from the card, say offloading pictures or videos you've taken with your device, I saw speeds peak at around 10 MB/s, and average out to about 8 MB/s. The reality is that no Windows Mobile device today can saturate the read/write speeds of a modern day memory card, so on-device performance will always be as fast as the device can handle.

In every way the memory card performed exactly as you'd expect. If you'd like to pick up one for yourself, Softpocket has them for $99 CAD.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. It's been a rough week.

[John Cody]

"T-Mobile Dash: Works, 5821 MB reported "

Hey Jason,

I bought a genuine SanDisk 4GB MicroSDHC card about 1.5 months ago, and my WM6 Dash did NOT recognize it (either with the out of the box format, or a reformatting of it using a sandisk 11-in-1 USB reader.)

Curious, what WM version is your dash running?

-John

[Jerry Raia]

It works on the Motorola Q 9h showing 5822.00 MB.

[Prosper]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

You can see the pattern that all of the modern devices work with the 6 GB microSD card, and the older device does not.

And you're now going to send this 6GB SDHC microSD card to the external correspondent Prosper, who's going to test this amazing card in this German HTC s710 device.

Won't you?

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by John Cody

Curious, what WM version is your dash running?

It's running the HTC Windows Mobile 6 build. I tried the 8 GB card as well, and using the task manager to check the system status, it's showing 7.6 GB free. So it definitely works! And this is the original Dash I got over a year ago...

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by Prosper

And you're now going to send this 6GB SDHC microSD card to the external correspondent Prosper, who's going to test this amazing card in this German HTC s710 device. Won't you?

Haha - nice try! Although reasonably soon we plan to start recruiting for the Smartphone Thoughts review team, so if getting your hands on such lovely hardware is appealing, then perhaps you should apply to join.

[billcalle]

Does anybody know if this works on a Blackjack II?

[brianfolk]

Originally Posted by Jerry Raia

It works on the Motorola Q 9h showing 5822.00 MB.

brianfolk
Neophyte
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 7 Motorola Q9h -- MicroSD card capacity??

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>> Can someone please give a DEFINITIVE answer re. Motorola Q9h MicroSD card capacity??

Here is my query (and answer) to PCMag:
Windows Mobile Devices Get Better - Motorola Q9h Full Review - Reviews by PC Magazine http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2210433,00.asp


Re: Motorola Q9h -- MicroSD card capacity??
Reply Quote
Thanks for the useful review; I just got mine and am generally very pleased, but have a crucial question that neither Moto nor AT&T can answer satisfactorily.

You referred to:

"a microSD card tucked into a convenient slot on the side. My 4GB Kingston card worked fine."

Moto's page http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/motoq9h/ says:

"Up to 2 GB of optional removable storage space with a microSD memory slot"

AT&T http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-ph.../?device=Moto+Q says:

MicroSD(TM) removable memory expands up to 32 GB

Nobody at either Moto, AT&T or Kingston can explain this discrepancy, and all are adamant that >2GB "should NOT work..."

I would like to get the 4GB if possible; how confident should I be that it'll work perfectly??

Thanks in advance for advice.


12-08-2007, 10:59 PM saschasegan (1004391060) replied to bcfolk (1004391016)

saschasegan


Joined on 12-06-2005

Posts 139
Points 1,881

Re: Motorola Q9h -- MicroSD card capacity??
Reply Quote

The manufacturers have gotten really confused on whether they're SDHC compliant or not, so I've just been relying on my testing results.

I know the Kingston 4GB card works.

Product: Moto Q 9h
Country: US
Carrier: AT&T/Cingular

Moto Q9h microSD compatibility follow-up / please help

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12-26-2007, 01:37 PM

I've now reformatted the card.

Under File Manager, it still says "Storage Card Not Found."

Under Memory Manager, it shows "Card Storage: 3.74 GB"

The damn thing still does not work, and nobody from Kingston or Moto or AT&T can explain / solve.

Please help -- thank you.

[Mike Temporale]

Originally Posted by billcalle

Does anybody know if this works on a Blackjack II?

Yup. I've put a 6GB MicroSD HC card into my BJII and it worked without any problems.

[Mike Temporale]

Originally Posted by brianfolk

The damn thing still does not work, and nobody from Kingston or Moto or AT&T can explain / solve.

One thing I would try is to hard reset the phone and before you install any other software, plug in the MicroSD card and see what you get.

Another thing to check is the file system type. I would try FAT 32 to start and then if that didn't work, FAT 16. But first off, try the hard reset and then do the card format.