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Jasmine
12-07-2004, 04:10 PM
I'm confused about Compact Flash and I'm hoping someone here can help me out! What is the difference between CF Type I and CF Type II?

I recently purchased the hx 4705 and now I want to buy some memory cards for it. I saw on the HP website that the hx 4705 uses CF Type II. Does this mean that it only uses Type II? Or can it use Type I too? I saw some Type I to Type II adaptors - do I need one of these?

Also, what are decent CF brands. I was thinking about buying a Kingston CF card I saw online. Is Kingston okay? What other brands are okay?

Any guidance would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Jasmine

Jason Dunn
12-07-2004, 04:12 PM
The only difference between Type 1 and Type 2 is size - Type 2 cards are a couple of mm thicker.

If a Pocket PC supports Type 2, that means it also supports the thinner Type 1 cards. So in your case, you can buy ANY type of CF card.

99.999% of all cards on the market are Type 1 - the only Type 2 cards are the 12 GB versions, and I doubt you're going to buy one of those. ;-)

In terms of brand, yes, Kingston is an excellent brand.

Jasmine
12-07-2004, 04:21 PM
Thanks so much for your advice! :)

The particular Kingston CF card I was looking at didn't specify Type I or II, but based on your information and the fact that it was a 1024mb card, it must be a Type I card.

If the Type II cards are slightly thicker and the hx4705 accepts Type II cards, does this mean that I need to buy a Type-I-to-Type-II adaptor as well? Or can I just stick the Type I CF card straight into my hx4705?

Thanks,

Jasmine

Jason Dunn
12-07-2004, 04:23 PM
If the Type II cards are slightly thicker and the hx4705 accepts Type II cards, does this mean that I need to buy a Type-I-to-Type-II adaptor as well? Or can I just stick the Type I CF card straight into my hx4705?

You can just stick it right in there - the connection point is the same, it's just that Type II cards have a little "junk in the trunk" up top (an extra layer). :lol:

Jasmine
12-07-2004, 04:31 PM
Thanks so much for the useful advice! PocketPCThoughts rock! :)

Jasmine

Sven Johannsen
12-07-2004, 04:33 PM
Microdrives, the little physical hard drives that come in a CF form factor are also Type II, from the 1G through the 4G.

Wanted to wonder why you are going with CF storage as opposed to SD storage. Nothing wrong with either but you do have a choice. The SD may be a little more expensive, but not always and not by much, at typical sizes. The question becomes if you ever get peripherals, like a GPS, or network card, or something, will you want CF or SD peripherals, to complement the opposite in storage. There isn't much you can't get in either format, but the SD peripherals seem a bit fragile to me with just that narrow tab of plastic. You of course have BT as well to connect some peripherals, but thinking about the future now can save you from buying something that may not fit into those plans.

jasondearyou
12-07-2004, 07:39 PM
are there any type III's out there?

Jasmine
12-07-2004, 07:49 PM
Wanted to wonder why you are going with CF storage as opposed to SD storage. Nothing wrong with either but you do have a choice. The SD may be a little more expensive, but not always and not by much, at typical sizes. The question becomes if you ever get peripherals, like a GPS, or network card, or something, will you want CF or SD peripherals, to complement the opposite in storage. There isn't much you can't get in either format, but the SD peripherals seem a bit fragile to me with just that narrow tab of plastic. You of course have BT as well to connect some peripherals, but thinking about the future now can save you from buying something that may not fit into those plans.

Actually, I'm planning on buying both! I have an old 256MB SD card that I bought for my old iPAQ 3970. I was debating whether to transfer that to my new hx4705 and buy a new CF card, or leave it and buy both a new CF card and a new SD card. My current thinking is that I'll buy a 1 GB CF card and a 512MB SD card. :)

The reason I only mentioned CF in my initial post is because I was confused about CF, but not confused about SD (since I've bought SD before).

Jasmine

Ripper014
12-07-2004, 09:28 PM
I was going to mention that the MicroDrives are type 2.... and also that of late there have been some question as to the speed of the Kingston cards... Though in the past something I have used... it appears that they are not as fast as some other manufacturers... I guess you get what you pay for.

maximus
12-08-2004, 02:09 AM
I was debating whether to transfer that to my new hx4705 and buy a new CF card, or leave it and buy both a new CF card and a new SD card.

A new device deserves a bigger and newer storage card ! :)

Jasmine
12-10-2004, 10:36 PM
Thanks to everyone for their advice/comments on this. I have ordered a 1GB CF card and a 512MB SD card for my new little iPAQ.

I also ordered a very nice black leather Sena case (http://www.senacases.com/).

And a few new applications...

Something as lovely as the hx4705 deserves to be spoiled doesn't it?? ;)

Jasmine