The Emergence of SDIO Products

[Janak Parekh]

We've been waiting forever, but finally, things are starting to look up for SDIO. Last week, iGolf Technologies <a href="http://www.igolftech.com/sdgps.php">announced</a> that they'll have a SDIO-based GPS solution available for both Palm and Pocket PC devices. Coincidentally, I got the toy on the left in the mail today. :mrgreen:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/parekh-20030908-SandiskSDIOWiFi.jpg" /><br /><br />I'll give a detailed review of it later, but initial impressions imply it's similar to CF: you install the drivers, plug it in, and it works. I haven't had time to benchmark it or give you an idea of how it performs rangewise, but the fact is SDIO host devices are now prevalent and the peripherals are becoming available. This might be the beginning of a shift in handheld peripherals.<br /><br />I do have one concern, and that surrounds the potential fragility of elongated SD solutions. While the Sandisk card feels very sturdy, the fact is that a lot of SD solutions will require something to "stick out" of the slot, whether it be a connector to interface to a device or an antenna, and the thinness might raise some concerns. Compare this to CF, which often has more space for a connector, and if anything sticks out it's thicker and sturdier. What do you think? Are you looking forward to more SDIO solutions, or are you planning to stick with CF for the time being?

[spaceman]

I would be more excited about SDIO devices but since most PPCs come only with one SD slot, you have to trade one capability if you want to plug in the other. For example, I would want to use SD memory to hold the maps for GPS. So how can I pull out the mem SD and plug in the GPS receiver? I would like to plug in the 802.11 SD card but have to remove all my media files which are stored on the mem SD card. So, unless the PPC has two SD slots or a combination of SD and CF slots, it still makes since to have the 802.11 function built-in to the PDA itself.

[yada88]

I myself am and have been waiting for the Sandisk Wi-Fi SDIO memory card. This card is purported to have 802.11b, along with 256MB's of memory. This would mean I would only need to carry around one expansion card with me, and big plus. I wonder what the warranty says about accidental breakage. I'm sure some retailer out there is jumping to charge you 15% and insure it for 3 years.

[szamot]

I am a minimalist - I always try to carry as little gear as I can so for me it is a fully loaded PPC and then selected accesories if need be.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

So, unless the PPC has two SD slots or a combination of SD and CF slots, it still makes since to have the 802.11 function built-in to the PDA itself.
I think that will be the next step in the PPC evolutionary chain. As SDIO devices become more prevalent, I think it's only a matter of time before someone markets a dual-SD slot device. It makes sense as SDIO devices supposedly use up less battery and they. of course, take up less space.

I do understand Janak's concern though. That SanDisk WiFi SD card looks mighty long and thin. I wouldn't have the same confidence in its ability to withstand wear-and-tear as, say, my current Socket CF card.

[Excalliber]

After they release the 256 meg plus WiFi model they should go back and use the same components as that card in the WiFi only to make it smaller. I would never have something that fragile sticking out that much. Half as much would be ok, though. That thing is huge! :?

[dean_shan]

Someone needs to field test this puppy and see how it handles rough wear.

[portnoy]

My concern is more in the area of what exactly constitutes "SDIO". Since the Toshiba line of PDA's have SDIO one would think that the Sandisk WiFi card would have not trouble with it and that is not the case. Are these SDIO expansion devices only going to work with a small subset of those PDA's that have SDIO?

[Steven Cedrone]

For now, I'll use the CF slot for the peripherals I have, and use the SD for storage. If I had no peripherals yet, I might want the SDIO cards. Then I would be concerned with how "sturdy" the cards were (or appeared to be)...

It appears as if there is an awful lot of card sticking out when that thing is inserted though...

Steve

[caywen]

Here are a list of creative ideas:

1. 1 GB SDIO card
2. 2 GB SDIO card
3. 3 GB SDIO card
4. 4 GB SDIO card

[delfuhd]

Yes, I was debating if I should get a 1940 and the SDIO WLAN card, and my father suggested I waited until the 256 mb+wlan SDIO combo came out, but I didn't feel I should because it would be great, but the fact that the card would be stuicking out is a huge problem. That just can't happen, it would definitely break in my case.. So I ordered an h2215 and a 256 meg CF card, they'll be arriving at my door within a week! :mrgreen: :D :multi:

I'm very excited to be joining the h2200 croud :grouphug:

I wonder what I'll do with my 3850 and 3970... erg...... lol

[chunkymonkey75]

I'm certainly glad I went with the 2215. It gives you the best of both worlds! I use the CF slot for the Wi-Fi card (which is alot cheaper and durable) and the SD slot for a 256 chip. I was thinking about getting a 1900 series HP but decided against it because of the CF card slot. There are still many more devices that use CF and not SD. Now that the SD devices are coming out, that will only cause the CF devices to become less expensive.

[Shadowcat]

I always thought Sandisk was going to release three products, a CF WiFi with 128 MB of ram, CF WiFi with 256 MB ram, and a SDIO WiFi card. When did they say they'd offer a SDIO WiFi card with an additional 256 MB of ram?

Update: Sorry, I have bad memory. It turns out that there's a CF 128 MB with WiFi card already available and a SDIO 256 MB with WiFi card will come out later this year. Guess I better do the research first next time! But does this strike anyone else as weird? I mean SD is smaller than CF. Why will the SD WiFi card have more memory than a CD WiFi card?

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

...my father suggested I waited until the 256 mb+wlan SDIO combo came out, but I didn't feel I should because it would be great, but the fact that the card would be stuicking out is a huge problem.
Agreed. Especially if you're relying on that card as your primary storage device. You're stuck with the WiFi antenna (which wouldn't play very well with PDA cases also) unless you're willing to remove and replace the card everytime you need the storage.

[jgahr]

Well, I went ahead and did exactly what I said I wouldn't anymore. My SD WiFi, and a SanDisk 512mb will be here tomorrow. I haven't had issues with SanDisk, and decided that the SD WiFi was what I needed to minimize my piles again. Have been using DLink with the 2215 to good results, we'll see with the SD WiFi. Can always sell it if it isn't the right solution. Just have to find a new place to hide stuff again.
:mrgreen:

[delfuhd]

I also haven't had any problems with SanDisk. The only problem I've heard first-hand is that my friend's 128 meg SanDisk SD card quit working on his Toshiba, but there's actually a warning about using SanDisk Cards with Toshiba. So since the card didn't work with his ppc, my friend gave me the 128 meg SD =D which was cool. I haven't had any problems with it at all, as i said before

[dangerwit]

I just got this card a week ago for my Samsung i700. It's very fast to surf with, no question about that. And, it works great in my 2210 as well.

Yep, the antenna seems on the fragile side, but maybe only somewhat more fragile than a CF antenna. I'm not sure what brutalities users subject these cards to, but a direct drop on the ground would likely kill either antenna style. Bumping into a wall while you walk-n-surf, well, either style should do fine. :) I paid $100 for my SD Wifi, and $60 for my Ambicom CF Wifi, so I'm going to take care of them both.

That said, the only thing less fragile is an enclosed antenna, a la the ipaq 5000's. Even then, a drop will likely kill the unit.

So, unless I'm going to fork over $2000+ for an industrial grade brick, or a case that turns my PPC into a brick, I'm going to be careful with my SD wifi and love it -- with an i700, you get anywhere internet and faster if you have access to a wifi network. How much better could it get for what's out there today? :)

*Phil

[maximus]

Are you looking forward to more SDIO solutions, or are you planning to stick with CF for the time being?

At present I will be staying at CF peripheral. Leaving the SD slot for memory. Got too many SD cards hanging around :wink: If someone finally make a SD peripheral that is small enough (short enough) and cheap enough ... maybe that is the day.

Boy, look at the length of that wifi SDIO card. Almost half of its length is going to stick out...

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Just curious... So what if itnsticks out? I mean would you want to leave it in all the time anyway? And were it low profile AND low-power, what kind of reception do you really think you'd get out of it?

I think it's pretty cool, but I'll wait until the Palm version comes out for my wife's T|T. I'm already set with my Axim's CF slot and I probably won't be changing PPC's any time soon...

[MikeKey]

Here's a thought, why don't they make these cards, or at least the part that sticks out, from a shock absorbant material like hard rubber or something to stop them breaking so easily?

Alternatively, they could make the card in 2 halves, antenna and memory/controller, and join the 2 rigid plastic halves together with a rubber center section allowing a degree of flex. I'm sure the components inside could take a little flexing, especially if it were just connections running from one part of the card to the other...

Mike

[Janak Parekh]

Here's a thought, why don't they make these cards, or at least the part that sticks out, from a shock absorbant material like hard rubber or something to stop them breaking so easily?
Hmm, rubber might be interesting -- less brittle. That said, the card does feel quite sturdy... but I like the idea of a rubbery antenna extension.

--janak

[yada88]

Design wise, I think it'd be pretty easy to have the card quasi split in two, with a bendable rubber section at the point at which the card emerges. There are two problems. The first is that some devices have a door and some plastic moulding surrounding the sd slot. This means the flex point wouldn't be universal.

Secondly and I believe more importantly, by "rugedising" the sd card, they would be in essence certifying it can withstand a drop. Not something you want to do when the device the sd card is in can be worth $100's of dolllars. Unless they wanted to spend the ridiculous money it would cost to make sure the card was unbreakable, they'll never bother, as the cost in liability is unjustified.

:devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy: :devilboy:

Hehe

[eyeofthetiger]

what i want for a wifi card is a type 2 CF card (so it wont have that annoying gap with type 1's in my ipaq 2215) that has a retractible antenna.. so that i could keep the card in the device permanently (and turn it on and off via software) and be able to carry it normally (in my pocket, in a case). i would just puch down on the top of the card and the antenna would pop out, like an sd card does. now that there are sd wifi cards it apparent that the circutry could easily be shrunk small enough to fit the mechanics into a CF card (probably would be space for some flash memory too! bonus!)

crossing fingers...

[Scott R]

I do have one concern, and that surrounds the potential fragility of elongated SD solutions. While the Sandisk card feels very sturdy, the fact is that a lot of SD solutions will require something to "stick out" of the slot, whether it be a connector to interface to a device or an antenna, and the thinness might raise some concerns. Compare this to CF, which often has more space for a connector, and if anything sticks out it's thicker and sturdier. What do you think?I made the same sort of comments when I talked about this and the iGolf on my site (http://goodthatway.com/news_arc/?id=71). Still, one advantage of this over CF is that because it's still quite a bit smaller than the CF option, you could theoretically have a relatively small case with a couple of pockets for SD cards where this could fit, thus allowing you to carry your PDA, memory card, and Wi-Fi card, all in one small case.

Scott

[maximus]

Just curious... So what if itnsticks out? I mean would you want to leave it in all the time anyway?

Imagine using that card on the side of an axim, use it awhile to browse the net, put the axim on your pocket without unplugging the wifi card first. Walk toward the door, someone opened the door from the other side ... *CRUNCH* ... OOPS.

[delfuhd]

Just curious... So what if itnsticks out? I mean would you want to leave it in all the time anyway? And were it low profile AND low-power, what kind of reception do you really think you'd get out of it?


IT's bad if it sticks out because what if you have a case that flips over the top of the iPaq? Can't close the case anymore, and if you have it in your pocket while its in there, it's sure to have some damage done to it. It would be too annoying to take it out; put it in, take it out, put it in etc...

Of course, this is if you have the 256 meg+WLAN combo and you need the storage space for memory or something.. It's an awesome idea, but well ya know..

[Vincent M Ferrari]

Imagine using that card on the side of an axim, use it awhile to browse the net, put the axim on your pocket without unplugging the wifi card first. Walk toward the door, someone opened the door from the other side ... *CRUNCH* ... OOPS.

Umm... Why would you put it in your pocket without unplugging the card first? That's my point. It's the same if you have a wifi card sticking out of the CF slot on the top, and you put it in your pocket, and you sit down.

Pop.

I mean, I know it sucks, but the fact is everything sticks out of the slot to some degree, and it's probably not a good idea to leave an expansion card inside a handheld when placing it in your pocket, unless it's an SD memory card that fits all the way in.

IT's bad if it sticks out because what if you have a case that flips over the top of the iPaq? Can't close the case anymore...It would be too annoying to take it out; put it in, take it out, put it in etc...

Don't close the case with the card in it... It wouldn't work with a wifi CF card either.

Look, people have been attaching stuff to handhelds forever. Remember the days of serial cables for wireless phones? Somehow people managed to keep it straight that you probably shouldn't leave your handheld in your pocket and hooked up to your wireless phone.

Sure it would be nice if it stuck out less, but it doesn't. As I said earlier, imagine if it didn't. Low power device + Smaller Antenna = crappier reception. The size of it doesn't seem to be much of an issue.

First people complained that there were no SDIO wifi cards. Now people are complaining that, even though it's here, it's too big. Then people will complain about it not having memory also and having to swap cards. :roll:

:soapbox: At some point, could someone pretend to be a little happy with something without a but, caveat, or if only?

[Scott R]

At some point, could someone pretend to be a little happy with something without a but, caveat, or if only?We'll be happy when someone creates what we want, a Wi-Fi card that doesn't stick out. You say this can't be done because it needs an external antenna, I say there's another solution, but it would require some form of teamwork by a group of companies, so that probably won't happen. The solution is basically what Apple did when they first came out with the Airport cards. They built the antenna directly into their laptops, so the PCMCIA cards could be completely flush inside the device. If PDA manufacturers would come up with some sort of antenna design with a common software interface, they could build the antennas directly into the PDAs. I would think that it shouldn't add much to the hardware costs, but they said that about Bluetooth and that still hasn't become standard equipment on all new handhelds.

Scott

[jbradley]

A little off topic, but can anyone point me to a comprehensive listing of ppc devices with SDIO?

[delfuhd]

Don't close the case with the card in it... It wouldn't work with a wifi CF card either.



Not close your ppc case? :?: It's hard to grasp that concept for some people...

And anyway We're just talking about the 256mb+WiFI combo card. If you needed the memory all the time, you'd have to take the card out and in as I said before1 And yes, it doesn't work with CF wifi eitehr, but then again you don't see people walking around with CF cards sticking out of their ppcs. No, and that won't happen with SD WiFi cards, either; that people will be walking aroudn with them sticking out of their sd slots. Obviously.

But, if you were to get the combo card, you'd have to keep the wifi card in there to use the memory! Great idea, but is it really that simple?

Yes, it's the same with CF memory+wifi card combos, but that's why I never got one of those either.