Sandisk CF and SD RAM/WiFi Combo Cards [Archive]

Ed Hansberry

01-10-2003, 09:00 AM

<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0301/03010906sandiskwifi.asp">http://www.dpreview.com/news/0301/03010906sandiskwifi.asp</a> "CES 2003: SanDisk has today introduced a combined WiFi (802.11b) and flash memory Compact Flash and Secure Digital cards. The 'Connect' product line starts with a 128 MB & WiFi Compact Flash card and a 256 MB & WiFi Secure Digital Card. Obviously at first these products will be aimed at the PDA market but it would be interesting to see if any camera manufacturers take advantage of this technology." <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2003/20030110-cfwifi.gif" /> 256MB SD card? :eek: Sign me up!

ricksfiona

01-10-2003, 09:13 AM

This, is really, really cool.

Ekkie Tepsupornchai

01-10-2003, 09:35 AM

Wow. 256MB combo card for $149? That's pretty impressive. I wonder though if you'll have the ability to disable the WiFi for times that you don't need it (I know it's supposedly low-power consumption, but it would still drain batteries). If it's not possible, then I'd have a hard time using this as a primary memory card as I only use WiFi a small percentage of the time that I use my PPC, but rely on SD memory ALL the time.

Cool idea though... it is a first step to getting around using a PPC w/o a CF slot.

Iain

01-10-2003, 09:45 AM

That's a fab idea... I'd heard a Wi-Fi SD card was coming out but I figured 'How can I load things from my SD memory card while using Wi-Fi..?'

Guess the answer's just arrived.

Any ideas of a projected release date and/or price? Ah yeah, and will it be coming to the UK..?

twntaipan

01-10-2003, 10:04 AM

JonnoB

01-10-2003, 11:09 AM

CF is a bigger form factor, doesn't it seem odd that the memory size in SD is larger than CF?

Freezer

01-10-2003, 11:28 AM

Any thoughts?

I recon this would be better than WiFi

DrtyBlvd

01-10-2003, 11:35 AM

Ah yeah, and will it be coming to the UK..?

Absolutely. Via UPS no doubt. :lol:

wjsteele

01-10-2003, 11:41 AM

That tops my "Cool... I've gotta have one!" list!

Bill :D

FredMurphy

01-10-2003, 12:53 PM

A nice idea for a combination product. :) Will become less of an issue if WiFi becomes integrated in more devices but great for now.

Are any SD WiFi cards (without memory) actually available yet? It'd certainly give the competition problems if this SD version was out first!

I doubt if any cameras will use the WiFi part - there's the issue of drivers as well as the fact that home networking is not yet mainstream enough to appeal to the average photographer. I could be proved wrong on this in a few years, though!

Fred

mikieMSU

01-10-2003, 01:24 PM

From what I have heard, cameras with BT technology should be available my mid-summer. I know that it isn't 802, but supposedly the major camera companies are in testing phase now.

I know that you guys don't like statements like that without sources, but mine was from a good friend who is working on this project.

I just hope that it comes sooner then later.
Mike

toshtoshtosh

01-10-2003, 01:28 PM

DrtyBlvd

01-10-2003, 02:02 PM

I doubt if any cameras will use the WiFi part - there's the issue of drivers as well as the fact that home networking is not yet mainstream enough to appeal to the average photographer. I could be proved wrong on this in a few years, though!

Fred

Perhaps proffesional photographers might have it as a set up in a studio - I guess if they could shoot and auto transfer they might make use of it though?

Ekkie Tepsupornchai

01-10-2003, 02:29 PM

CF is a bigger form factor, doesn't it seem odd that the memory size in SD is larger than CF?
Good observation... I hadn't even noticed that until now... definitely very odd...

Ekkie Tepsupornchai

01-10-2003, 02:38 PM

nobody's been able to make a SD Wi-Fi card yet and Sandisk of all people comes out with an SD Wi-Fi + 256mb flash card???

Along with the fact that their CF Wi-Fi + Flash card is only 128mb, something doesn't sound right.

I'm skeptical.
Another odd thing is that SanDisk's current listed retail price on 256MB SD is $189.99 (according to the SanDisk online store), yet their combo 256MB/WiFi is priced in this article at $149.99.

Additionally, most WiFi CF cards are listed at retail between $100-150. I was expecting WiFi SD cards to be priced even higher. I would expect a combo card to be MORE expensive than the sum of the individual parts. We're looking at a card that provides a sum retail value of at least $300-400.

I think it's great that they're pushing the envelope, but I do wonder a little bit about quality... especially if they're able to justify that low of a price.

Pony99CA

01-10-2003, 02:46 PM

CF is a bigger form factor, doesn't it seem odd that the memory size in SD is larger than CF?
I noticed that, too, but I think the article explained part of it. It said:

The CF Wi-Fi card is available now, the CF dual-function card and the SD Wi-Fi card will be available in March and the SD dual-function card is expected to ship at mid-year.

The article also said:

SanDisk plans to add 256MB cards to the CF Connect product line by the middle of 2003.

So it sounds like the 128 MB CF/WiFi card is just something they can get out earlier.

What I found odd was the following comment:

The cards also have been simplified for easy installation, and security encryption keys are included with the products.

What are the encryption keys for? Does this just mean it will support WEP, or is there something else going on?

Steve

Boxster S

01-10-2003, 03:24 PM

nobody's been able to make a SD Wi-Fi card yet and Sandisk of all people comes out with an SD Wi-Fi + 256mb flash card???

Along with the fact that their CF Wi-Fi + Flash card is only 128mb, something doesn't sound right.

I'm skeptical.

I think that you guys are being a bit TOO skeptical. I mean, 256MB SD memory cards are pretty cheap now. I got my Sandisk 256MB SD card for $69 after $30 MIR from Buy.com in late November. And just the other day, Buy.com still had it for a still reasonable $109 - $30 MIR.

And the press release looks pretty damn legit to me.

Marc Zimmermann

01-10-2003, 03:29 PM

CF is a bigger form factor, doesn't it seem odd that the memory size in SD is larger than CF?
A CF memory card contains the whole controller circuitry as well, it's not in SD cards but rather the device.

Ekkie Tepsupornchai

01-10-2003, 03:43 PM

I think that you guys are being a bit TOO skeptical. I mean, 256MB SD memory cards are pretty cheap now. I got my Sandisk 256MB SD card for $69 after $30 MIR from Buy.com in late November. And just the other day, Buy.com still had it for a still reasonable $109 - $30 MIR.

And the press release looks pretty damn legit to me.
Yeah, but those prices you mentioned are "street prices" not "retail price". Press releases typically don't quote expected street prices. As it is, the 256MB SanDisk card is currently listed on the SanDisk site at $189.99.

I'm not saying SanDisk won't follow through. I'm personally not as skeptical about the product itself as I am about the expected quality. BTW, when I say skeptical, I'm referring to the true meaning, which is that I'm neither believing nor disbelieving, I'm just waiting to see...

bdeli

01-10-2003, 04:07 PM

Got this from Brighthand - http://www.brighthand.com/article/CES_SanDisk

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

The Wi-Fi (802.11b) CF and SD Connect cards have a suggested retail price of $99.95. The dual-function CF cards with 128MB of capacity will be priced at $129.95 while the dual-function 256MB SD cards will be priced at $149.95. The CF Wi-Fi card is available now, the CF dual-function card and the SD Wi-Fi card will be available in March and the SD dual-function card is expected to ship at mid-year. The CF pricing includes a PC card adapter for notebook and laptop owners. SanDisk Connect cards will be sold in many of the 50,000 retail stores worldwide where SanDisk branded products are sold.

Pony99CA

01-10-2003, 04:25 PM

I think that you guys are being a bit TOO skeptical. I mean, 256MB SD memory cards are pretty cheap now. I got my Sandisk 256MB SD card for $69 after $30 MIR from Buy.com in late November. And just the other day, Buy.com still had it for a still reasonable $109 - $30 MIR.

And the press release looks pretty damn legit to me.
Yeah, but those prices you mentioned are "street prices" not "retail price". Press releases typically don't quote expected street prices. As it is, the 256MB SanDisk card is currently listed on the SanDisk site at $189.99.

As the 256 MB SD/WiFi card won't be available until mid-year, all this may indicate is that SanDisk may be planning on cutting the prices of their 256 MB SD card by then. :-)

Steve

Sven Johannsen

01-10-2003, 04:28 PM

It's been mentioned before, but where are all the just plain SD WiFi cards today?

Then, I would presume that the SD Memory/WiFi card requires an SDIO slot (Duh). Someone got a real list of ALL the current PPCs that actually have IO capabilities in their SD slots?

One thing I would want to make darn sure of. You can turn the WiFi off! That memory card is likely going to need to stay in the device.

Janak Parekh

01-10-2003, 04:34 PM

It's been mentioned before, but where are all the just plain SD WiFi cards today?
Check out bdeli's post on the previous page. They'll have standalone Wi-Fi cards too.

Hmm, now here's a reason I have to upgrade my 3870... no SDIO support. A 256MB+WiFi would be very, very cool. I wonder what the range would be, and what the size of the antenna peeking out of the SD slot would ultimately be.

--janak

nobody

01-10-2003, 04:36 PM

One disadvantage I can see is that WiFi doesn't change much. But you always need more storage. Might be a pain if you want to upgrade your storage?

bdeli

01-10-2003, 04:46 PM

It's been mentioned before, but where are all the just plain SD WiFi cards today?

Sandisk are saying that their's will be out by March. Also yesterday, Socket announced their SD wi-fi which will be shipped by the end of this quarter.

http://www.brighthand.com/article/CES_Socket

bdeli

01-10-2003, 04:48 PM

Hmm, now here's a reason I have to upgrade my 3870... no SDIO support. A 256MB+WiFi would be very, very cool. I wonder what the range would be, and what the size of the antenna peeking out of the SD slot would ultimately be.

--janak

Same here janak....seems like I will have to start looking for a new toy in the next few months!

bikeman

01-10-2003, 05:38 PM

So can this be used in the Toshiba e-310? SD slot, but I don't think it is SDIO. Or is this yet another cool accessory not supported? :evil:

Boxster S

01-10-2003, 06:54 PM

What is this "SDIO NOW!" Is this yet ANOTHER new standard? :?

Daniel

01-10-2003, 07:15 PM

Seems pretty cool to me! This stuff was mentioned like a year ago at some show, it's nice to see it ready to arrive on the market.

Hopefully the software (and hardware) will enable the Wi-Fi to be turned off. Otherwise you won't be able to use your SD/CF card on a plane.

Daniel

Daniel

01-10-2003, 07:17 PM

What is this "SDIO NOW!" Is this yet ANOTHER new standard? :?

Good question, or maybe we've all been abbreviating... :)

Daniel

vincentsiaw

01-10-2003, 08:19 PM

ooo, canot wait for the 256 combo card, it's definately a must buy !

JonnoB

01-10-2003, 08:36 PM

What is this "SDIO NOW!" Is this yet ANOTHER new standard? :?

Good question, or maybe we've all been abbreviating... :)

Daniel

SDIO Now is the bSquare initiative to standardize SDIO interface on the Pocket PC platform. Microsoft is using it now as well. It is now should be a part of the platform SDK.

Ekkie Tepsupornchai

01-12-2003, 02:16 AM

One thing I would want to make darn sure of. You can turn the WiFi off! That memory card is likely going to need to stay in the device.
That's exactly my concern. Even though these are labeled as "Low-Power", they still have a significant impact on battery life.

Unless SanDisk is putting a physical switch on these devices, such functionality would need to be supported by device drivers, which would be something new to SanDisk (if I am not mistaken, this would be their first venture outside of storage technology)... of course they might be working with another entity who is experienced in developing & supporting WiFi technology.

kgreiner

04-25-2003, 06:27 PM

:bangin:

When is the Sandisk WiFi + Memory CF card supposed to be released. They said sometime in April, well April is just about over with.

Any news would be great, I have been looking forward to this once I saw the press release.