View Full Version : TrustedReviews Looks at the Sandisk Ultra II Plus USB
Darius Wey
07-23-2005, 04:00 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=1677' target='_blank'>http://www.trustedreviews.com/artic...e.aspx?art=1677</a><br /><br /></div><i>"SD cards aren't the most exciting of products, they pretty much do what they're supposed to - slip into your digital camera, PDA or whatever and act as removable storage. I'm therefore not in the habit of reviewing SD cards, since most of the time there's little to differentiate them from each other, bar read and write speed. But this particular SD card is very different indeed and definitely deserves a closer look. I was attending a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas when SanDisk announced this product and it's taken over half a year for me to finally get my hands on a retail sample. The SanDisk Ultra II Plus USB SD card is very different from any other SD card you're likely to find and it's definitely far more convenient. You see the problem with digital cameras is getting the images from the camera to your computer."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20050723-SandiskUltraIIUSB.jpg" /><br /><br />TrustedReviews has just reviewed an SD card. But it's not just <i>any</i> card - it's the Sandisk Ultra II Plus USB SD card (something I'm sure a lot of readers out there would be interested in). Give it a read and I'm sure you'll be impressed with its functionality and design.
Phoenix
07-23-2005, 08:47 AM
I've been wanting to get my hands on one of these to replace my aging thumbdrive.
It would fit perfect in my Vaja SD case. :wink:
WyattEarp
07-23-2005, 12:24 PM
I think this design is great. Anytime one can carry less stuff around to accomplish the same job is a good thing. I would like to see 1 & 2 GB cards though. But I think I will pluck down the cash for this one to start.
Too sad the design ASKS for the USB connector to be broken!!!!!!!
Have you noticed the groove between the body and the USB connector!!!!
8O
That's crazy design :evil:
WyattEarp
07-23-2005, 03:45 PM
Too sad the design ASKS for the USB connector to be broken!!!!!!!
Have you noticed the groove between the body and the USB connector!!!!
8O
That's crazy design :evil:
Not sure what you mean by broken. The body just flips back flush against the other end of the card. What's so crazy about that?
Janak Parekh
07-23-2005, 07:36 PM
I think this design is great. Anytime one can carry less stuff around to accomplish the same job is a good thing. I would like to see 1 & 2 GB cards though. But I think I will pluck down the cash for this one to start.
Agreed. But does anyone know if it's actually available at this point?
--janak
Too sad the design ASKS for the USB connector to be broken!!!!!!!
Have you noticed the groove between the body and the USB connector!!!!
8O
That's crazy design :evil:
Not sure what you mean by broken. The body just flips back flush against the other end of the card. What's so crazy about that?
I said "connector", I'm talking about the thingie that goes inside the USB female connector, not the part around it (which I perfectly understand bends away when the connector is inserted into the female USB conector). And between this connector (usually referred to as USB Am) and the top part (the one with the SD connectivity; the one that contains the memory) there is a groove that is the card weakness.
palur
07-24-2005, 12:22 AM
Well! I will buy it if I am able to transfer files from other people's flash drives in to This SD card using the USB connector. Therby I do not need any laptop/PC anymore.
I am not sure it can do that. :wink:
Well! I will buy it if I am able to transfer files from other people's flash drives in to This SD card using the USB connector. Therby I do not need any laptop/PC anymore.
I am not sure it can do that. :wink:
Impossible!!
1) neither can supply power
2) neither can manage the transfer commands
3) both are slaves
4) both have male connectors
But by using a USB host capable PPC (e.g. FSC Pocket Loox 720) you could read/write a USB flash drive
http://www.abaxas.ch/divppc/sdsdp.jpg
This is what I mean about the card weakness:
The connector A is part of the SD card body B (same plastic parts) but at the area C there is a groove in the plastic making i thinner, therefore very likely to break!!
So instead of reinforcing this area they design it to be weaker (the groove), hence what I call a crazy design!!
:evil:
Janak Parekh
07-24-2005, 02:07 AM
So instead of reinforcing this area they design it to be weaker (the groove), hence what I call a crazy design!!
Until one sees it in person, it's hard to say how "weak" this would be. It's possible it's only marginally thinner and exaggerated in the image. Considering they advertise a lifetime warranty, I would expect them to have tested the connector.
--janak
oturn
07-24-2005, 02:55 AM
I've got the 1MB version of this card, and the reduction in thickness at that point is a tiny fraction of a mm, probably much less than what you are thinking. I doubt the difference in strength is even measurable. Plus, it's simply not at a real stress point, either when opening the card or using it in a USB port...unless of course you normally yank out your USB devices at an extreme angle! You'd have to check out the card in person to see what I mean. I guess time will tell how reliable they are, but it's been rock solid for me! It's brilliant!
Darius Wey
07-24-2005, 03:39 AM
So instead of reinforcing this area they design it to be weaker (the groove), hence what I call a crazy design!!
Until one sees it in person, it's hard to say how "weak" this would be. It's possible it's only marginally thinner and exaggerated in the image. Considering they advertise a lifetime warranty, I would expect them to have tested the connector.
Agreed. When I first saw the Sandisk SD Wi-Fi card, I had the thought of it snapping off whilst inside my Pocket PC. Not so the case - it turned out to be a sturdy little thing, and I'm sure this SD/USB card has undergone the same sort of quality testing to ensure it's of a high enough standard for the market. If it does indeed end up being weak, well I'm sure we'll know soon enough with the plethora of users coming here to report their problems.
Ekkie Tepsupornchai
07-24-2005, 06:25 AM
I've got the 1MB version of this card... It's brilliant!
I hope you meant the 1GB version and not the 1MB version! 8O ;)
szamot
07-24-2005, 07:39 PM
Two things.
I don't know if the 512mb card is available but I know that these boys are taking orders for the 1gig verison:
http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=121998
and strictly from a PPC point of view this thing is useless you are much better off using CardExport and turn your device into a USB Mass Storage Device. A regular SD card is far more robust looking and far cheaper to get
strictly from a PPC point of view this thing is useless you are much better off using CardExport and turn your device into a USB Mass Storage Device. A regular SD card is far more robust looking and far cheaper to get
I have to disagree here. I tried CardExport for a couple of weeks, and found the one flaw that kept me from purchasing it - to duplicate the functionality of a thumbdrive (which is kind of the point) you have to carry your PPC's USB cable wherever you go! Since the emphasis for me is on Pocket PC, I don't want to be carrying my cable all the time just in case I need to hook up to someone's computer.
That's why this Sandisk card is interesting to me - nothing extra at all to carry, and yet anytime someone needs to transfer a file to me from any random PC with a USB port, it's ready to go.
Jason Lee
07-24-2005, 09:05 PM
Agreed. But does anyone know if it's actually available at this point?
--janak
the local circuit city here in backwater missouri has had them for almost a month so you should be able to get them about anywhere by now. lol
oturn
07-24-2005, 11:23 PM
Er....1GB! You got me there!
redleg
07-25-2005, 01:25 AM
I got an ezonics USB/SD adapter from newegg and it does almost the same thing for less money and still lets me use my 1 GB SD card. I love it.
Janak Parekh
07-25-2005, 02:58 AM
the local circuit city here in backwater missouri has had them for almost a month so you should be able to get them about anywhere by now. lol
Surprisingly, online availability is nonexistent. PriceGrabber suggests (http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabber.com/p__SanDisk_1GB_Ultra_II_Secure_Digital_Plus_Card,__9090614/search=sandisk+ultra+plus+ii) that only Circuit City has it. 8O I think I'll wait a few more weeks for cheaper online retailers to sell the units.
--janak
The review seems to mention something about the actual memory card being used for this Ultra II Plus SD card is of the RS-MMC or miniSD formfactor? Which again makes me wish this thing actually uses a miniSD-to-SD adapter, where you can insert any miniSD/RS-MMC card into it :)
microSD/TransFlash would work too...
Jason Lee
07-25-2005, 06:00 AM
Surprisingly, online availability is nonexistent. PriceGrabber suggests (http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabber.com/p__SanDisk_1GB_Ultra_II_Secure_Digital_Plus_Card,__9090614/search=sandisk+ultra+plus+ii) that only Circuit City has it. 8O I think I'll wait a few more weeks for cheaper online retailers to sell the units.
--janak
wow, only CC? that is strange. 8O
Hyperluminal
07-25-2005, 03:06 PM
Surprisingly, online availability is nonexistent. PriceGrabber suggests (http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabber.com/p__SanDisk_1GB_Ultra_II_Secure_Digital_Plus_Card,__9090614/search=sandisk+ultra+plus+ii) that only Circuit City has it. 8O I think I'll wait a few more weeks for cheaper online retailers to sell the units.
--janak
wow, only CC? that is strange. 8O
You know, Froogle found (http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=1gb+sandisk+sd+plus+usb&scoring=p) a bunch of retailers selling the 1 GB version, and for a lot less too...
...On second thought, a lot of these retailers seem to be out of stock. Strange.
CESkins
07-25-2005, 04:01 PM
For those who have the new USB SD card, how reliable have these cards been? Any corruption of data?
Janak Parekh
07-25-2005, 04:43 PM
...On second thought, a lot of these retailers seem to be out of stock. Strange.
Right, many retailers are listing it but CC seems to be one of the only vendors that claims that they have it in stock.
--janak
WyattEarp
07-25-2005, 11:04 PM
Too sad the design ASKS for the USB connector to be broken!!!!!!!
Have you noticed the groove between the body and the USB connector!!!!
8O
That's crazy design :evil:
Not sure what you mean by broken. The body just flips back flush against the other end of the card. What's so crazy about that?
I said "connector", I'm talking about the thingie that goes inside the USB female connector, not the part around it (which I perfectly understand bends away when the connector is inserted into the female USB conector). And between this connector (usually referred to as USB Am) and the top part (the one with the SD connectivity; the one that contains the memory) there is a groove that is the card weakness.
Okay, I just didn't understand what you meant at first. But I guess there was no other way to do it (at least as far as they can see).
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