Waterproof SD Cards Make a Splash! Or Possibly Not.

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.dottocomu.com/b/archives/001253.html' target='_blank'>http://www.dottocomu.com/b/archives/001253.html</a><br /><br /></div><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040406_waterproofsd.gif" /> <br /><br />Have you ever dropped your SD card in the shower? Left it outside in the rain? Gone swimming with it in your pocket? Well, neither have I, but apparently a Japanese company thinks that the world needs a waterproof SD card. Dottocomu reports that "Adtec is to release a full range of waterproof SD cards (32MB-1GB) on April 20. In addition to adhering to JIS standards when it comes to water resistance and preventing moisture getting inside, they're also good at shrugging off shocks, shakes, and static electricity. Pricing ranges from Y2,500 for the 32MB version up to Y30,000 for the 512MB, with no information available about the 1GB version as yet. For all the cards' toughness, the maker offers one caveat--make sure they're dry before you insert them into anything."<br /><br />Sage advice indeed. I can sort of see how this might possibly be useful to professional photographers in tropical locales. Do you think this product is all wet, or do you think it'll float? :mrgreen:

[dean_shan]

Maybe these are to go with those super heavy duty, leave it in the mud, Pocket PCs.

[Cameron_Talley]

I agree; this will probably be welcomed for rugged PPC users that need their PPC all the time, such as in the Army.

For the average user? Well, its kinda silly to have a waterproof SD card in a non-waterproof PDA, isn't it?

[Tierran]

I'd like to note that I've run my CF card through the wash no less than twice and it resulted in no damage either time. So I'm not sure I get this.

[dean_shan]

I'd like to note that I've run my CF card through the wash no less than twice and it resulted in no damage either time. So I'm not sure I get this.

Yikes! How's you end up doing that?

[IanthePez]

I have washed both an SD and and XD card and both came out fine. Definately not a needed product in my opinion unless they aren't much more expensive.

[rudolph]

I wash my sd and cf cards regularly to clean virii from my files.

:)

[jizmo]

I would like to see a rugged SD card!!

Oh wait - there's Compact Flash already.. :oops:

/jizmo

[kzemach]

We're using lots of SD cards here in Iraq and Afghanistan in PPCs of all types (R-PDAs from TallaTech and iPaqs). The R-PDAs have a covering so it's not that big of a deal. And, I suppose one could argue that iPaqs themselves aren't waterproof, so who cares? And then of course there are all the digital cameras.

My take on it is this: while we're using a lot of PDAs, I'm not sure you'd call any of them mission critical. It one goes down, it's not like you're gonna die or anything. You might lose some info. You might lose some data. You might lose a backup. So? The fact that the military is using more and more commercial, standard equipment (you would not believe the prevalence of Garmin eTrex GPSs) is a testament to the fact that people are willing to give up on ruggedness and durability for lower price and easy availability.

So, would I buy them for soldiers? If they did actual testing that proved they were waterproof and were not any more than 10% higher in cost, sure. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother. Would I buy them for myself? Maybe. But you go and blow money on a 500MB SD card, and a year down the road what you find yourself using is the cutting edge 2GB card, not that 500 MB waterproof one... the number of low capacity cards sitting in my junk drawer is horrifying!

[Aerestis]

mahhh, I would buy an explosion proof water proof hit by a car proof anything bad proof sd card for 10% more buttt I don't know, I've not got anything important enough that I couldn't afford losing it for now. So I won't buy this.

[L.Rentz]

Maybe use for the industrial community. They would benefit. I dont think an average user would even think about it.

[dcharles18]

MMC Cards are already waterproof. I've run some through the washer and dryer before (inadvertantly of course) and they came out just fine.

[Tierran]

Yikes! How's you end up doing that?

Left it in my pocket by accident ;)

[joelevi]

If the PocketPCThoughts team would like to foot the bill set everything up, I'd be more than willing to test out a few of these cards while scuba diving in Cancun or Barbedos, or some other tropical locale.

The lengths some of your readers are willing to go through just to get you a "well qualified" review! ;)

[joelevi]

MMC Cards (sic) are already waterproof. I've run some through the washer and dryer before (inadvertantly of course) and they came out just fine.

I don't have any SD cards, just a single 128MB MMC, so it's nice to know that they're already waterproof!! Thanks for the info!

[Jonathan1]

Two words...Laundry washer. I've killed a 64MB CF card in the washer.

[Jacob]

If the PocketPCThoughts team would like to foot the bill set everything up, I'd be more than willing to test out a few of these cards while scuba diving in Cancun or Barbedos, or some other tropical locale.


heh.. I think the pressure might crack them. Although an in depth review of how a rugged PDA performs at different depths... I'd do that!

[alexm]

Two words...Laundry washer. I've killed a 64MB CF card in the washer.

I'm sure there will be people that will not mind to pay a little extra and not worry about... laundry...

[RobertCF]

Actually, I left a 16MB AND a 128MB CF card in my pocket on day and they got washed. Believe it or not, the 128MB card survived and the 16MB didn't.

[Rob Alexander]

I guess it depends on the price. I'd probably pay a couple of dollars more just for the feeling of greater security in difficult climates, but I wouldn't pay much more. Unlike some here, I don't tend to wash my CF and SD cards :D , so it's really not much of an issue to me. It sounds to me like a solution in search of a problem.

[joemath]

The GPS-chartplotter on my boat uses MMC cards to store waypoints and maps. I'd pay extra money for the assurance that my cards are waterproof. (I'd also pay extra money if they resist corrosion and float.)

[eric linsley]

good news i hear they are comming out with new titanium SD cards. they are completly water tight and shock proof.
they still havent figured out how to get these tnew SD cards to actualy read or write yet but they imagine they will have tha worked out by the time Dell releases a free update for windows 2003 2nd edition.

[Steven Cedrone]

A few years ago, one of the members of the Thoughts team, dropped his Pocket PC in the... Well, you know! :wink:

Anyway, it's great to know that if you even wanted to touch that card again, you would be able to retrieve your data! :lol:

Steve

[TPadden]

Garmin and others probably have been making waterproof GPS's for a while. For boating use some of them even float - so they may be useful.