4 GB SD Card for $165.99? Sounds too Good to be True...

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/main.aspx?p=ItemDetail&item=CPM10325' target='_blank'>http://www.surpluscomputers.com/sto...l&item=CPM10325</a><br /><br /></div>We were alerted today to a great deal on a 4GB Secure Digital Card, going for a mere $165.99 USD. That's a great deal! The problem though is that the card only has a 90-day warranty on it. In a world where companies such as Kingston offer lifetime warranties, a 90-day warranty on a Flash memory card screams "Low-end Flash parts prone to failure" to me.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/CPM10325_LG.JPG" /><br /><br />The closest comparison I could find in the <a href="http://thoughtsmedia.pricegrabber.com/">Thoughts Media Pricegrabber Store</a> was a <a href="http://thoughtsmedia.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=12024819/sort_type=price">Transcend 4GB card for $210</a>. I was tempted to get one of these, but that 90 day warranty is scaring me off, as is the fact that I've never heard of that brand name before. Anyone feeling brave? ;-)

[ID64]

:D I just got this card. Works just fine with JAMin

[Eugenia]

They seem to be an ok company, however, their own web site only lists that flash card only up to 2 GB: http://www.adata.com.tw/adata_en/product_detail.php?ProductNo=112
I would also expect some devices to not be able to read correctly 4 GB FAT32 (make sure you format it as FAT32, not as FAT16, because FAT16 can have problems above 2 GB).

[mangochutneyman]

AVOID ADATA BRAND LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!! :evil: I've owned several adata branded cards and they have FAILED! Believe it or not, the card will become corrupted eventually. Just do a google search and you'll find tons of similar experiences. Newegg is a great site but I would avoid buying this card with only 90 day warranty. The Transcend 4GB card has very slow write speeds from my experience but it works well overall. Also be warned that almost no current card readers will be able to successfully read these 4GB cards. You will have to buy card reader listed by the OEM that work...

[mbranscum]

AVOID ADATA BRAND LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!! :evil: I've owned several adata branded cards and they have FAILED! Believe it or not, the card will become corrupted eventually. Just do a google search and you'll find tons of similar experiences. Newegg is a great site but I would avoid buying this card with only 90 day warranty. The Transcend 4GB card has very slow write speeds from my experience but it works well overall. Also be warned that almost no current card readers will be able to successfully read these 4GB cards. You will have to buy card reader listed by the OEM that work...

I had a 1GB ADATA card for my Nokia 6620 and it crashed stuff all the time. Replaced it with an ATP card and all was well.

[powder2000]

Aren't most of these cards rebranded from 1 or 2 manufacturers? Seems odd that something so simple could fail so easily.

[Dyvim]

Also be warned that almost no current card readers will be able to successfully read these 4GB cards. You will have to buy card reader listed by the OEM that work...

That wasn't my experience with the Trascend 4GB SD card at all. I have 3 different older model SanDisk card readers that accept SD cards and all 3 worked: ImageMate 6-in-1 USB card reader, ImageMate SD/MMC USB card reader, and 4-in-1 PC Card adapter. All 3 were purchased 2 years ago and I don't think they were brand new products even then.

And despite the short list of compatible devices on Transcend's website, I was able to use the SD card in many devices such as HP iPaq 5555 and Toshiba e830.

One odd thing I noticed about the Transcend SD card: it is a hair thicker than my SanDisk SD cards. It still fits in all my SD card slots but you can definitely tell it's a bit thicker.

[whydidnt]

I've been using this exact card in my JasJar now for some time, without any issues. I have a card reader that recognized it at 2 GB before I formatted it on the PPC. Once I did that the reader sees all 4 GB - don't know what's different.

When I purchased it at NewEgg, it came with a Lifetime warranty, and says so on the package. I wonder if Surplus Computer got a questionable batch that carry a shorter warranty?

[Eugenia]

The reason why you before had 2 GB and then 4 GB is probably because the original formatting was for FAT16 instead of FAT32. When you buy a new card, always format it (under Windows too), but specifically for FAT32. Only the older Zaurus PDAs required FAT16 (FAT32 was supported, but not recommended), but newer versions can handle FAT32 equally well too.

[Kacey Green]

why aren't they formatted at full capacity like flash drives or floppy disks or unfomatted like hard drives?

[dragonhand]

I got one of these 4 GB SD cards about a month-and-a-half ago. Have had not problems with it so far in my Axim X51v or my desktop card reader. It also works fine in my wife's HP Ipaq 4150. However, an Asus MyPal A716 could not handle the larger capacity card. That's one reason why I now have an Axim. Speed is great. Bought it from SurplusComputers for $199. Maybe I should have waited. Or maybe get a second one?

[weatheryoko]

I own both the Transcend and the AData 4 GB card (hey, I travel (GPS) and like to watch movies). Both cards are identical as far as I'm concerned. I've use Pocket Mechanic to verify read/write speeds and both came up with almost identical results. I use them in my imate JasJar.

If you buy one of these SD Cards, your current SD card reader (on the PC side) may not read it. However the "San Disk Mobile Mate - SD" reads them just fine. Staples sells it for about $20.00

[Janak Parekh]

why aren't they formatted at full capacity like flash drives or floppy disks or unfomatted like hard drives?
Because not all peripherals (especially older cameras) support the FAT32 necessary to get one 4GB partition.

(Anyone remember the days before Win95B and FAT32 support?)

--janak

[MichaelA]

This deal was better, but is currently sold out: ($149)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=82502-19

$164.99
http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/main.aspx?p=ItemDetail&amp;item=CPM10325

$169.99, PQI
http://www.surpluscomputers.com/store/main.aspx?p=ItemDetail&amp;item=CPM10332

$207, Transcend, rebate
http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=601848&amp;store=ecost&amp;source=ewbfroogle&amp;adcampaign=email,ewbfroogle

$210, Transcend
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820163159

I've been tracking these for a while, but I missed it when the first card hit $150. I would have picked one up for that! It's likely they will get more in stock at some point -- pretty much all of these have gone in and out of stock, especially when the price drops.

[billa_gordon]

I got a 2gb one of these and it took ages to format. I tried so many programs and card readers, and once it was properly formatted it was ok.

However, these cards are very fragile and several months ago, I dropped the card about a foot onto a carpet. Then when I put it back in my MDA compact, it asked me if I wanted to format the card. It had been wiped of all data. I was gutted, I had lots of pictures and other data that couldnt be replaced, and none of the card recovery programs worked.

I am unsure if I am going to buy another from this brand, but I would suggest if you do, be carefull with it and back it up reguarly!

[ricksfiona]

We really live in a great time of technology...

[alizhan]

AVOID ADATA BRAND LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!! I've owned several adata branded cards and they have FAILED!
And I've owned two of the 1GB models for quite some time, and have had NO problems. They've had the crap beat of them, too. At the bargin rate ADATA charges I wasn't expecting much, but I've been quite pleased. They may fail tomorrow--but even if they do, they'll still have lasted about as long as any of my other cards.

Just do a google search and you'll find tons of similar experiences.
Usually on the older cards, though. There were definitely QA problems with some of ADATA's early offerings, but AFAICT they've cleaned up their act. That said, the early adopters who got burned have been QUITE vociferous and tenacious in their disparagement. I honestly don't understand the level of bile directed at ADATA: all manufacturers make defective cards from time to time (Sandisk has it down to a science :roll:), and all cards are going to fail eventually. The failure rate might be higher with ADATA than for some other brands (or maybe not), but for that you pay much less.

How much money is the warm, secure feeling of buying a brand name worth to you?

Also be warned that almost no current card readers will be able to successfully read these 4GB cards. You will have to buy card reader listed by the OEM that work...
Agreed. In fact, this is the single biggest issue I found when reading rants about "bad cards". People blame it on a faulty card, when the card and reader are both fine--they're just incompatible.

Just to be clear: the 4 GB limit is not an ADATA issue, it is a "4GB is a whopping big card" issue. Reading any brand of 4GB card can be a problem due to a different filesystem being used. Caveat emptor...

[lapchinj]

... I was tempted to get one of these, but that 90 day warranty is scaring me off, as is the fact that I've never heard of that brand name before. Anyone feeling brave? ;-)
It was good that you mentioned this. People should know this up front before they buy. My trying days are over. I got burnt a few times so the price doesn't attract me much anymore unless the card is manufactured by a major brand name. I've been very happy with Sandisk and Lexar cards the past two years so I'll stay with them. Sandisks Extreme III cards are really nice. At any one time I can be carrying around at least six CF cards containing backups of different projects I'm working on.

Jeff-

[lapchinj]

...(Anyone remember the days before Win95B and FAT32 support?)
All too well :roll:

Jeff-

[bmhome1]

My $207 Transcend 4GB 150X SD came formatted as FAT32 with 512 clusters and worked right out of the package in my 5550 and a Panasonic SD>CF adaptor inside Lexar Cardbus PCMCIA slot reader.

No reformatting was necessary, nor should any 4GB card not come formatted already FAT32, since FAT16 maximum size is 2GB, unless using 64k clusters, but very space inefficient.

Very fast and has been flawless. Somehow have managed to only have 250MB left on it, hundreds of applications installed and complete Wikipedia 2GB encyclopedia. Hans Reggel recently tested the Transcend 4GB SD as the fastest card he ever benched for reads and writes.

Transcend spec documentation features their use of single layer memory cells (instead of multi layer stacking) supposedly provides better speed and stability and 10X erase cycle life increases.

Their 4GB card specs for environment and shock tolerances are identical to their smaller SD cards. There's no reason to assume a larger quality branded card would be any more fragile than similar smaller size.

SD cards are legendary in their washer and dryer abuse survivals. Any card failing just a simple 1 foot drop was physically defective originally.

Perhaps life first "binned" then as a rebranded (without specs published) card that failed original more stringent specs, those marginal but still working rejects certainly don't just end up in the trash.

Its what a brand label doesn't address on their home web site to be wary about. Originally a Lexar diehard I was unsure about Transcend until after checking their published full card specs.

[Frank2]

I found this Adata SD-Card 4 GB in ebay for only 105,95 $ (88,28 Euro):

http://cgi.ebay.de/150X-AData-4GB-SD-Card-Secure-Digital-Memory-4-GB-Flash_W0QQitemZ7595586182QQcategoryZ103409QQssPageNameZWD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I think to buy it.

regards
Frank

[myuser]

i have rad on the trancsend homepage that their 4gb card works from -25°C(-13°F) to 85°C(185°F)
thats quite a interesting thing because my actual sd card is rated from 0-40°C and has serious problems at low temperatures (around 0°C)
for example when i use it in my cam i get corrupted jpeg's...

anybody who posted here he owns the 4gb transcend card can confirm that it works ok in low temperatures?

[zzrogue]

This deal was better, but is currently sold out: ($149)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=82502-19


I just checked the site at ZipZoomFly and it's now at $139.99 and when reading through it has a lifetime manufacturers warranty! It's also in stock at this moment.

:D

This deal is getting better by the day!

Anyone try this on an Audiovox PPC 6600 or compatable?

Oh btw, first time posting!

[Nurhisham Hussein]

D**n, they don't ship outside the US!

[follick]

Here is a 4GB MMC for $95 + $20 shipping in USA

http://cgi.ebay.com/4GB-ADATA-SAMSUNG-MULTIMEDIA-MMC-CARD-MEMORY-4-GB-FLASH_W0QQitemZ7602300554QQcategoryZ50521QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I bought this item and I am very happy with it. My card reader wouldn't recognize it, but it works great with my Toshiba e800. I got a Sandisk 5-in-1 ImageMate reader (Model Number SDDR-99 V3) that works with it. My previous cards are all low speed so I can't compare this to other high speed memory cards, but this is very fast.

[Pedro-G]

I own both the Transcend and the AData 4 GB card.
Do you specifically have the A-Data 150X 4GB card, the same as pictured in the first post in the thread?

I'm currently trying to make it work with my iPaq hx4700. With what devices have you used the A-Data card successfully or unsuccessfully?

[follick]

I have the AData 200X 4GB MMC card. It works fine with no problems on my HP hx4700. It also works with my Toshiba e800.