03-06-2006, 07:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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4 GB SD Card for $165.99? Sounds too Good to be True...
We were alerted today to a great deal on a 4GB Secure Digital Card, going for a mere $165.99 USD. That's a great deal! The problem though is that the card only has a 90-day warranty on it. In a world where companies such as Kingston offer lifetime warranties, a 90-day warranty on a Flash memory card screams "Low-end Flash parts prone to failure" to me.
The closest comparison I could find in the Thoughts Media Pricegrabber Store was a Transcend 4GB card for $210. I was tempted to get one of these, but that 90 day warranty is scaring me off, as is the fact that I've never heard of that brand name before. Anyone feeling brave? ;-)
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03-06-2006, 07:05 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 40
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 I just got this card. Works just fine with JAMin
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03-06-2006, 07:11 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 67
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They seem to be an ok company, however, their own web site only lists that flash card only up to 2 GB: http://www.adata.com.tw/adata_en/pro...?ProductNo=112
I would also expect some devices to not be able to read correctly 4 GB FAT32 (make sure you format it as FAT32, not as FAT16, because FAT16 can have problems above 2 GB).
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03-06-2006, 07:22 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 127
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AVOID ADATA BRAND LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!! :evil: I've owned several adata branded cards and they have FAILED! Believe it or not, the card will become corrupted eventually. Just do a google search and you'll find tons of similar experiences. Newegg is a great site but I would avoid buying this card with only 90 day warranty. The Transcend 4GB card has very slow write speeds from my experience but it works well overall. Also be warned that almost no current card readers will be able to successfully read these 4GB cards. You will have to buy card reader listed by the OEM that work...
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03-06-2006, 07:36 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 403
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by mangochutneyman
AVOID ADATA BRAND LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!! :evil: I've owned several adata branded cards and they have FAILED! Believe it or not, the card will become corrupted eventually. Just do a google search and you'll find tons of similar experiences. Newegg is a great site but I would avoid buying this card with only 90 day warranty. The Transcend 4GB card has very slow write speeds from my experience but it works well overall. Also be warned that almost no current card readers will be able to successfully read these 4GB cards. You will have to buy card reader listed by the OEM that work...
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I had a 1GB ADATA card for my Nokia 6620 and it crashed stuff all the time. Replaced it with an ATP card and all was well.
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03-06-2006, 07:59 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 469
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Aren't most of these cards rebranded from 1 or 2 manufacturers? Seems odd that something so simple could fail so easily.
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03-06-2006, 08:04 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 676
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by mangochutneyman
Also be warned that almost no current card readers will be able to successfully read these 4GB cards. You will have to buy card reader listed by the OEM that work...
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That wasn't my experience with the Trascend 4GB SD card at all. I have 3 different older model SanDisk card readers that accept SD cards and all 3 worked: ImageMate 6-in-1 USB card reader, ImageMate SD/MMC USB card reader, and 4-in-1 PC Card adapter. All 3 were purchased 2 years ago and I don't think they were brand new products even then.
And despite the short list of compatible devices on Transcend's website, I was able to use the SD card in many devices such as HP iPaq 5555 and Toshiba e830.
One odd thing I noticed about the Transcend SD card: it is a hair thicker than my SanDisk SD cards. It still fits in all my SD card slots but you can definitely tell it's a bit thicker.
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Early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" (dual boot with Windows 7), Early 2009 Mac Mini
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03-06-2006, 08:21 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,202
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I've been using this exact card in my JasJar now for some time, without any issues. I have a card reader that recognized it at 2 GB before I formatted it on the PPC. Once I did that the reader sees all 4 GB - don't know what's different.
When I purchased it at NewEgg, it came with a Lifetime warranty, and says so on the package. I wonder if Surplus Computer got a questionable batch that carry a shorter warranty?
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03-06-2006, 08:56 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 67
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The reason why you before had 2 GB and then 4 GB is probably because the original formatting was for FAT16 instead of FAT32. When you buy a new card, always format it (under Windows too), but specifically for FAT32. Only the older Zaurus PDAs required FAT16 (FAT32 was supported, but not recommended), but newer versions can handle FAT32 equally well too.
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03-06-2006, 09:00 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,097
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why aren't they formatted at full capacity like flash drives or floppy disks or unfomatted like hard drives?
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