256MB Secure Digital Cards On Sale $49 After Rebate at eCost

[Crystal Eitle]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=478689' target='_blank'>http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/det...asp?dpno=478689</a><br /><br /></div>Now through July 7th, eCost has 256 MB Secure Digital cards on sale for $49 after manufacturer's mail-in rebate. Sure, they're SanDisk, but at $.19 per megabyte, you really can't go wrong. Only 25 left as of this writing.

[icatar]

Whoops, make that 1 less available! :mrgreen:

[Enderet]

Are SanDisk SD cards any good? I remember Toshibas had trouble with them.... can anyone give me any feedback?

[eternalblue]

I own a 256MB sandisk card, and i use it on my axim for mp3's. I can't say that I've ever had a problem with with it.

[Anthony Caruana]

Are SanDisk SD cards any good? I remember Toshibas had trouble with them.... can anyone give me any feedback?

There are stories/reports of issues with the 256 MB cards and Axims that i have read (may be on Aximsite or on Aximusers)

:soapbox:

Why are these rebates only for US residents? Surely the manufacturers
are aware that the market for these cards is global and that people in countries other than the US would buy them. Aren't my US dollars the same as everyone elses?

[sponge]

You've seen the legalese for some rebates already, imagine if it weren't limited to just the US?

[szamot]

I was bitter as well about no rebates to Canada when I found it, but at least someone else can benefit from it. Costco had these in Canada last week for $108 less $25 not bad, but certainly not as cheap. Damn!

[Raphael Salgado]

I have to put my two cents in on this one.

I briefly went through three (3) SanDisk SD cards during each time I bought a new PocketPC with a bunch of accessories. I always gave it a clean slate up until the last time I gave up. Regardless of PocketPC brand and speed, and regardless of SD memory capacity, each one gave me integrity errors that would result in loss or corruption of data, forcing multiple reformats and tedious recopying of my audio files and programs.

My latest combination was a Dell Axim X5 and a 256MB SanDisk SD card. I tried the trial of Resco Audio Recorder 2.0 which had a "I/O speed test" in order to determine if it could encode and write to the card fast enough. Each time I ran the test with the SanDisk card, it would corrupt the entire FAT area, losing all the folders and files on the card. I tried the same test with a SimpleTech card and it performed the test flawless.

Even performing write operations to the SanDisk card on a USB 1.1 reader caused random failures. Again, the same write operations (just by copying through Windows Explorer) never had any issues with my SimpleTech cards.

By the way, for the previous message, it wasn't just an Axim the Resco Audio Recorder "test" failed on. I now have a Samsung i700 and I also performed the test on an HP iPAQ 1910 - both failed with multiple SanDisk cards, both passed with all my SimpleTech cards.

You don't have to wonder why their cards are so much cheaper than anyone else's on the market, and/or always providing rebates and discounts. I worked at a CompUSA and all our returns of SD cards were always SanDisk.

I paid $15-$30 more for each SimpleTech card, but I never had to look back. It's buyer beware with products from SanDisk, so unless you got the extra change to spare for shipping back when you hit their failure ratio, I suggest you use that extra cash now and stick to a product that you really don't hear issues about in the forums.

There, I said it. Good luck.

[Dave Beauvais]

Well said. I've now had two SanDisk SD cards and one SanDisk SmartMedia card fail, each within six months of purchase. In all cases, they were covered under warranty, but it has literally taken nearly two months to get the two replacement SD cards each time one has failed. I vowed several months ago here to never again purchase a SanDisk product of any kind, no matter how attractive the price may be.

--Dave

[Enderet]

:D Thanks a lot guys... Im glad I didnt order one of these cheap SanDisk cards...

[trachy]

I've owned a SanDisk card the past few months and haven't had a single problem with it. Why wouldn't I buy another? Because I'm really paranoid about something going wrong with it. I've heard so many bad things about them, that I spend loads of time and effort backing up whatever is on it.

[HTK]

I have a 128MB sandisk and I had the worst time with it, now it works, but with some bad blocks... the unlock switch was kind of missplaced and my cassipeia failed to write data ( and I saw on some pages that i´m not the only one with this problem ), after a mess with tapes and glues ( to make the switch bigger for the ppc to recognize that it was on the unlock position ) I made it work, but now I have some bad blocks and they´re growing :evil:

and if you´re asking why I did not returned it, it is because i´m on Brazil, and here, it would be more expensive to send it to USA and get it back than fixing it ( kind of ) myself... :cry:

So I highly recommend to DO NOT buy sandisk! :pukeface2:

[Newsboy]

I feel bad for all of you who've had problems with your SanDisk SD cards. I have a 32MB and 256MB SD card from SanDisk, and I've used both with a variety of devices and readers with nary a single problem. These include:

Sandisk 4-in-1 PCMCIA adapter
6-in-1 USB 3.5" bay card reader
SanDisk Cruzer thumbdrive
Lexar JumpDrive Trio thumbdrive
MicroTech Zio! thumbdrive/SD card reader
HP Ipaq 1910
Intermec 6651
Audiovox Maestro
Casio EM-500

Dang. I should get going on those Ebay auctions. :lol:

[trachy]

Looks like the dug up a few more. As of this writing they have 97 on hand.

[trachy]

One last post on this topic. You can get a 256Mb SD card by Lexar at Buy.com (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10330513&loc=101) delivered for $47.99 after rebate. The only catch is they're out of stock at the moment. Oh yeah, and you have to buy it by tomorrow. Catch-22.

[Enderet]

I bought a lexar sd card using that rebate at amazon and it was a good deal. My lexar card never failed me.

[rubberdemon]

I have had issues with Sandisk SmartMedia cards, and heard many online grumblings (AND had a 2 month replacement time on a SmartMedia that failed) so I replaced the 128MB Sandisk in my XDA with a 256 MB Lexar. I don't know about long-term reliability, but man is it faster - informal tests and day-to-day useage give me about 3 times the speed of the Sandisk. I'll only go with Lexar or something comparable (Simple seem to be good too) from now on.

[ricksfiona]

256MB is nice but.... Anyone know about getting 512MB SD cards for under $200? Cheapest I can find is $282.

[darrylb]

I have had two SanDisk 256Mb SD cards, The first one was returned because I could not read it or format it (later found to be a limitation in the reader rather than the card :roll: ).

The replacement has been great! No problems at all. The replacement was quick and hassle free.

I've just ordered a Sandisk CF WiFi Card, so I dont have any problem with them. :D Obviously others have though... :|

[jimski]

I dunno. I own four or five SanDisk SD cards (128mb and 64mb) and can't say I have every experienced any problems. I have used the cards in my iPAQ 3870 & 5450, my SanDisk Cruser, my Canon Exilm camera and various card readers and PC card adapters. Can't say I have ever had any kind of problem.

I haven't tried a 256mb card yet, but don't imagine it would be much different. Has anyone ever had a problem with any other brand of SD card? I would guess, at least based on my observation, that SanDisk probably has 50-70% of the SD market. That means you are more likely to hear about a SanDisk failure , but does that mean they are inferior or just popular.

[szamot]

Geez am I the only one who has never had a problem with SanDisk cards. I have 64mb, 128mb and two 256mb cards for as long as I can remember and never once did I have an issue with them. Used them on 3850, X5, E740 and 5450. The only issue I have to this day is that I paid $349.00 CDN for each of my 256mb cards when they first came out, but I guess that is relative.

[Dave Beauvais]

... SanDisk probably has 50-70% of the SD market. That means you are more likely to hear about a SanDisk failure, but does that mean they are inferior or just popular.
While that may be somewhat true, my decision to never buy a SanDisk product again was based on something else, as well. You just don't treat customers as I was treated. Two months for a warranty replacement? Twice?! Unreturned phone calls? E-mails with no reply? On top of poor quality (in my opinion) products, they have poor customer service. That's a losing combination in my book.

Sorry to keep derailing your thread, Crystal. ;)

--Dave

[wizardmaster2k]

I have had a few 256 mb SanDisk cards and both gave me probs. The most recent one was with my Dell Axim. Sometimes when I would transfer a file or two using activesync I would just get a LOT of folders with the name of "." That is all they woule be, a . A period! WTF is that? I lost so much information I sold it and will only get Lexar or or better from now on.

[Crystal Eitle]

Sorry to keep derailing your thread, Crystal. ;)
Hey, no problem. I think it's a valid discussion.

[Deslock]

Forget about the reliability question... Sandisk cards (both SD and CF) are painfully slow. Even if you need a card right now and can't wait until buy.com (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10330513&loc=101) gets Lexar back in stock, find Lexar or Viking elsewhere, even if that means you end up paying a little more for it. It's worth it.

[Server]

Personally, I believe Sandisk is DUMPING and 'DISK'COUNTING
a lot of their semi faulty or defective but passable SD cards.
I bought a few of these 256 Cards from eCost and ALL were defective.

I contacted Sandisk and they refused to acknowledge or admit to
a manufacturing problem despite HUNDREDS or THOUSANDS of
users complaining of the same problem ("Write Failure or Disk Can
not be Formatted")

The actual memory inside the cards are not at fault. It's the plastic
casing and protection tab that is problematic. Sandisk REFUSED
to swap the defective memory at my request and simply put the
responsibility on eCOST (which by the way were very easy to deal with)
eCost will NOT replace your SDcard, rather they will have you RETURN
your SDcard for a FULL refund and then you must re-buy the same
product and cross your fingers that you don't end up with another dud.
Furthermore, if you decide to return the SDcard you will be OUT the cost
of SHIPPING which both Sandisk or eCost will not reimburse you despite
this being the direct fault of Sandisk.

In the end I discovered a way to fix these cards by opening the plastic
case and supergluing the slider tab to the TOP position and then re-
assembling the cover. It seems that when inserting the card into a
cruzer or card reader or PPC, the tab slides down to the lock pos
causing the write failure. When you pop the card out the slider
moves back up giving the illusion that the memory chip is bad.

At 49.00 it is still VERY tempting but for me regardless of price I refuse
to deal with certain companies that will deliberately deceive the consumer
if they can get away with it ie. Sandisk/Sony etc..

[Kurt Hunciker]

On the other hand, I have had difficulties using Crucial and Viking CF cards with my Canon digital cameras. Both of these cards resulted in occasional corrupted picture files, while a SanDisk card (which is recommended by Canon) has worked fine. (The Crucial and Viking cards work fine in my Axim and my laptop.)

There have been a number of postings about this issue in the Canon Forum of dpreview.com

It seems as though different brands (or manuacturing runs) of memory cards are not truly compatible. Some hardware (or brands) appear to be sensitive to the card being used.

[maikii]

Let's not go-along with the BS of advertising prices "after-rebate". They should advertise the price they charge. Mail-in rebates take months to come, and often don't come, and you've forgot about it by then. The price this company is charging is $69.99. I assume the rebate from Sandisk would apply to that Sandisk card bought anywhere, no? I saw that card at Costco recently for $64. I assume the same rebate applies. So, it's cheaper at Costco.

[trachy]

I assume the rebate from Sandisk would apply to that Sandisk card bought anywhere, no?

No. The rebate states "when purchased at PC Mall/eCost/Mac Mall."

[Jonathon Watkins]

There are stories/reports of issues with the 256 MB cards and Axims that i have read (may be on Aximsite or on Aximusers)

So is THAT why I am having problems with my Sandisk 256Mb card and my Axim????? I had one 256 SD card die on me and it took 6 weeks to get a replacement. :cry:

[Jonathon Watkins]

I have had a few 256 mb SanDisk cards and both gave me probs. The most recent one was with my Dell Axim. Sometimes when I would transfer a file or two using activesync I would just get a LOT of folders with the name of "." That is all they woule be, a . A period! WTF is that? I lost so much information I sold it and will only get Lexar or or better from now on.

8O That's JUST happened to my replacement 256Mb SD card! 8O

In the end I discovered a way to fix these cards by opening the plastic case and supergluing the slider tab to the TOP position and then re- assembling the cover. It seems that when inserting the card into a cruzer or card reader or PPC, the tab slides down to the lock pos
causing the write failure. When you pop the card out the slider moves back up giving the illusion that the memory chip is bad.

Hmmm, I keep my SD card in the Axim all the time though - and it has still corrupted on several occasions. :evil:

Hmmmm, do the 256 Mb SD cards generally cause problems in PPCs other than the Axin?

[guinness]

Hmmmm, do the 256 Mb SD cards generally cause problems in PPCs other than the Axin?

I've heard of problems with Toshibas too, it may be the SD i/o in Axim's and Toshiba's have problems with larger SD cards. Also, I've heard that for most of the 128 MB cards, the memory controllers are made by Panasonic, most cards larger than that, the controller is made by SanDisk. I'm happy with my Viking card, but I've heard of problems with 256 MB SD Viking cards as well. Sounds like you either take your chances on getting a good card (for a cheaper price) or you have to pay more for it.

[JF in Detroit]

I have never had a problem with any of the Sandisk products I own, including SD and CF. They appear to be as fast as anything else I own, including Lexar and Kingston. When I shop for flash memory I consider Sandisk everytime (and avoid Mr. Flash).

[Kati Compton]

(and avoid Mr. Flash).
I haven't had a problem with my 128MB Mr. Flash CF card that I use in my digital camera.... And you GOTTA love the name.... Mr. Flash.

[maikii]

By the way, since someone mentioned that the $20 rebate on these cards is only available at Ecost or PCMall or MacMall, I checked the PCMall web site, and they have the same price, $69 + $20 rebate.

The hype on Ecost about only having 25 left (when I looked later it was 85 left), is just a sales tactic. Obviously they have a whole lot (I know PC and Mac Malls are the same company, perhaps so is Ecost), they want to get rid of.

There is actually a PC-Macmall physical store near here ("Creative Computers" on Wilshire in Santa Monica), so I might buy one there--no shipping charge (although sales tax), but easy to return if there is a problem. (I've returned stuff there for a refund before, no problem.)

(Online too, perhaps PCMall has a better return policy than Ecost, from the experience one writer shared here.)

[danielzr]

FYI - Here is one experience which I witnessed with a Sandisk 256 MB SD card and Toshiba strongArm based PDA:

Overclock one step (using Jimmy Software's tool)-

Large files copied have lost clusters and binaries which don't work. This happens even when files are copied within the SD card - or copied via ActiveSync.

If the card is totally reformatted on the PDA and re-scanned on the PDA, when scanning the card, it automatically shows that it found lost clusters.

Turn off Overclocking -

No problems at all. Copying or scanning a newly formatted card...

The errors were totally reproducable by turning on and off overclocking.