Bluetooth SD-Card driver for PocketPC ???

[mAve]

Does anyone know, how to activate the SD-Bluetooth-Card from Toshiba with PocketPC (running on Toshiba e570) eg. does anyone got it running with drivers?
when plugging it into the PocketPC nothing happens.
thanks,
mAve

[Jason Dunn]

It didn't come with a driver disk, like a CD? You definitely need drivers...

[mAve]

no, no drivers. bought the palm sdio - the only available at the moment. there are just palm drivers. the producer of the palm sdio is toshiba and its standard bluetooth sdio conform, so it should work in the pocketpc.

[Jason Dunn]

...so it should work in the pocketpc.


...but not without drivers. :-) I imagine they'll be made available from the Toshiba web site, but not until they start shipping the card for the Pocket PC, in which case you'd be able to buy the Pocket PC version anyway. I think you're out of luck.

[rizlo]

But maybe it's sufficient a generic PocketPC SD bluetooth driver from SD card manufacturer or is needed a device-specific one from device manufacturer? If it's the second case I fear we never see it...

What about CASSIOPEIA EM505?? It has a full working SD slot (i'm using a 128MB SD memory on it) It would be very nice if we could use SD I/O card as bluetooth from toshiba

[yada88]

if you visit toshiba's site for the e310, they are selling
as an addon accessory a pocket pc bluetooth SD card.
That might be the first place to look for drivers.

[mAve]

hi yada88,
looking for drivers is still all i do. but toshiba do not release them via internet. i think everything is on cd.

does anyone have the cd and can post me the pocketpc drivers for the bluetooth sdio card?

thnx,
mAve

[rizlo]

Noone answered my question.... The driver has to be device-specific or could be just for PocketPC OS?? I think it's very important to be sure of this...

[Jason Dunn]

Noone answered my question.... The driver has to be device-specific or could be just for PocketPC OS?? I think it's very important to be sure of this...


My guess is that it's device specific, so you're probably out of luck. You also need a Pocket PC that supports SDIO, which the EM-500 does not (AFAIK).

Are there really that many of you that purchased the Palm version?

[rizlo]

OK no luck, but the fact that EM505 doesn't support SDIO is just a driver issue, right? There are no phisical difference between SD memory and SDIO, same pin out and form

[Jason Dunn]

OK no luck, but the fact that EM505 doesn't support SDIO is just a driver issue, right? There are no phisical difference between SD memory and SDIO, same pin out and form


You'd have to find someone more knowledgeable than me on the subject, but I believe it's more than a simple issue of drivers.

[Stik]

I think Jason is right. The initial Toshiba Bluetooth SD/IO card is a Toshiba/Palm corroboration, and is Palm specific.

I stole this from another source to try and explain the 'problem'....

The SDIO Problem

Microsoft does not provide "native" support for SDIO in Microsoft Windows XP and Windows CE .NET. Many device manufacturers are building SDIO capabilities into devices, but devices that include SDIO-capable peripheral slots or that use SDIO modules in a "fixed" module design cannot expect operating support in the near term.

SDIO peripherals (modem, digital phone, Ethernet, etc.) will not have SD capabilities without supporting system software. Without a coordinated approach to providing system software, the SDIO capabilities of these devices will not be exploitable without the significant expense of supporting multiple custom peripheral drivers. This will slow the production of SDIO peripherals, increase their cost, and ultimately reduce the overall value of the device to the end user.

System software and drivers to support SD card products must be in place for the applications to use the technology.
http://www.pdalive.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=686

Hopefully, BSquare's SDIO Now! program will help bring this technology to WindowsCE products.

On a completely different note, if you check the date that the SD Association finalized the SD/IO specs to when Toshiba released it's Bluetooth SD/IO card for Palm, it really makes me wonder if the card meets the current SD/IO specs or was actually just BASED on pre-existing SD/IO specs that weren't finalized.

Does that make sense?

BTW, what does AFAIK mean? TIA

[angelseye2000]

Nice adding as usual stik.....

BSQUARE Unveils New Program to Hasten Industry-Wide Implementation of SD -- Secure Digital -- Technology
SDIO Now! Program Supplies Peripheral and Portable Device Manufacturers with Industry Standardized Device Driver Package for Rapid Product Development
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2002-- BSQUARE Corporation (Nasdaq:BSQR - news) today announced a new technology program to help portable device, card host controller, and peripheral manufacturers support SD (Secure Digital) and SD IO products for their Microsoft Windows CE-based smart devices.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020312/120146_1.html

bSquare forms strategic alliances providing Bluetooth Solutions
http://www.controleng.com/archives/news/2000/december/gm1206b.htm

BSQUARE & Socket Communications Team Up To Offer Complete Bluetooth Solution for Windows CE
http://www.socketcom.com/about/press/pr10925a.htm

SD Association Ratifies New Product Specifications At Ces 2002
15:30 PM GMT on Mar 29, 2002
[INTERNET WIRE]

The SD Association (SDA) announced today at the 2002 Computer Electronics Show (CES), the ratification of new specifications for SD Cards, including SDIO (Input/Output) cards and format specifications for PIM (Personal Information Management Data), and Image/Video (MPEG-4, Motion JPEG data). The SDIO specification creates a whole new class of mobile-friendly Input/Output devices based on the SD memory form factor. These specifications will enable SDA members to finalize new product designs and increase the interoperability using SD memory cards on multiple SD consumer electronics products. Since its launch at CES 2000, the SD Association's membership has grown to 400 companies. SDA member companies will be on hand at CES 2002 at the SD Pavilion (New South Hall, Booth # L10536) to demonstrate products utilizing the SD Card.

This year's show marks the two-year anniversary for the SD Association, which has doubled its membership over last year. The SD Card format has already captured a significant amount of overall memory card sales and is expected to expand its market share in 2002, driven predominantly by increased consumer demand, lower prices and broader product distribution. The SD Card's strong differentiators, including its focus on interoperability, standardization, and the addition of functionality beyond basic memory -- such as Bluetooth, GPS and secure capabilities, have made the card the de facto purchase decision for consumers. According to Web Feet Research analyst Alan Niebel, memory card sales are expected to total more than $2 billion in revenue in 2002, with SD Card gaining further market share over last year.

"With over 100 SD-enabled consumer electronic products currently on the market, the SD Card is rapidly gaining acceptance as the de facto standard for secure, interoperable flash memory," said Ray Creech, president of the SDA. "The ratification of four major application specifications paves the way for next generation product development. In addition to the rapid adoption of the SD Card within digital music players, DVDs, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), digital cameras and cellular phones we also look forward to its utilization in business applications and smart home appliances in the near future."

The SDIO standard adoption allows the SD socket to serve as a memory device and an I/O port for device expansion. This capability can give portable devices, such as PDAs, multimedia systems and cell phones additional peripheral and accessory options without increasing size or circuit complexity. Currently SD Cards are in development for wireless functionality using Bluetooth, navigational devices based on GPS receivers, cameras and other useful devices.

The new specifications are officially posted to the SDA website (www.sdcard.org) for convenient downloading by member companies. These application specifications are critical guideline documents that describe both the memory and I/O devices and a standard method for storing data onto SD Cards. Adherence to these specifications provides a means of enhancing interoperability across a wide range of devices.

In addition to these work groups, three new work groups were formed at a March 2001 board meeting focusing on the areas of: Sound (MIDI), Voice (Personal Audio) and Documents (Printing and Fax). These new groups are targeting to release these specifications by Spring 2002.

http://www.anywhereyougo.com/bluetooth/Article.po?id=3843025

The Memory Stick and Secure Digital cards.....

The product that has the most industry backing is the Secure Digital, or SD, format that is being backed by over 150 companies worldwide. It is smaller then the Memory Stick and is quickly becoming a major standard for adding memory and i/o features to digital cameras, PDAs and cell phones.

The SD format comes in two main flavors. The first format is called MultiMediaCards and they come in four types: (1) SecureMMCs (content protection and e-commerce) and standard MultiMediaCards such as: (2) ROM, (3) Flash and soon, (4) OTP (one-time programmable) storage.

The other format is the mainstream SD Cards which offers secure flash memory and I/O features such as Bluetooth, cameras, bar code readers, GPS, etc. Both formats can also be used in many digital cameras as well as PDAs from vendors such as Palm, Compaq, HP, and many others, and is likely going to be the most heavily backed industry standard for next generation add-on memory and i/o products.

The Memory Stick and Secure Digital cards are quite important for two key reasons. The most obvious is its small size. This allows vendors who use it to create devices that can be smaller.

But another key reason is that with large industry backing, which includes the inclusion of a Memory Card or SD card reader in everything from laptops to VCRs, DVDs, TVs, MP3 players and even next generation integrated home entertainment consoles, these cards can be used to transfer data among these mostly incompatible devices and in a way serves as a data transfer common denominator.

A good example of this would be to take pictures on a digital camera that uses the SD Card format, and then take it out of the camera and pop it into a DVD player or a TV that has an SD Card reader inside and instantly display the pictures through or on these disparate devices.

Keep your eye on this area of technology as I expect a lot of new and innovative products to come out based on these cards and add a whole host of new features and capabilities to many existing products.

http://www.anywhereyougo.com/bluetooth/Article.po?id=2307977

[DJR]

Hi - I'm in the same boat: I have the Toshiba/Palm Bt SDIO card and among my collection of PDAs have a new e570.

I like the Toshiba hardware but am *really* disappointed with the total lack of tech support in general, and with this card in particular.

I see from Phillip's site that the e570's slot must be SDIO-compliant; and from his links that the Toshiba-branded product is shipping.
http://www.insomedia.com/bluetoothsdcard/

I've been spectacularly unsuccessful in finding the necessary drivers from Toshiba though.

Anybody able to provide pointers?

[DJR]

BTW Stik,

Yes the Bt card is fully SDIO compliant

The Palm/Toshiba and Toshiba cards are identical apart from the label/silkscreen and the packaging and provided software

Oh yea, and AFAIK = as fas as I know

Cheers,

Dan

[mAve]

now i´ve got the drivers for the pocketpc, but the palm-sdio card is not running. connecting the toshiba-card, everything works good, but connecting the palm-card, nothing happens.
perhaps it is just a change in the registry, but who knows what where to change.

@DJR
look into your mailbox

mAve

[Phunkphantom]

Sorry but I have been talking to the guy responsible for PDA accessories in Europe - An he said that the BT SD will not work in the E570, Only the e310 and e740!

Gutted cos have a 570 too Looks like I just lost my CF Slot!

[NoSoup4U]

I'm using the drivers from the CD that shipped with my card on a Toshiba e310. But the first rev of the drivers kind of suck. I can't find any updates on the Toshiba website. Anyone seen any later builds?

Thanks.

[Alex57]

I'm using the drivers from the CD that shipped with my card on a Toshiba e310. But the first rev of the drivers kind of suck. I can't find any updates on the Toshiba website. Anyone seen any later builds?

Thanks.
Does it work anyway??

[NoSoup4U]

It works, but it's not pretty. The BT applet needs a lot of work (doesn't remember it's pairing with my T68 phone, so you have to refresh that each time before initiating a GPRS connection). Also, the install resets the default connection for ActiveSync on your device to Bluetooth (instead of USB). As a result, everytime you sync via the USB cradle, it fails, until you go back into AS settings on the device, and change it back to USB.

It works...it's just not mature.