Using SD cards

SD (Secure Digital) cards are used as memory storage for use in portable electronic devices. The cards are used in a wide variety of products, including netbooks, camcorders, video game consoles, mobile phones and digital audio players. As well as this, at this point, all leading digital camera manufacturers use SD as their main form of memory storage. Examples of the use of SD cards include storing pictures, video, ringtones, images, sound clips, game files and digital picture frames. They can also be used within DAB digital radios. The development of the SD card format began in 1999 as a follow-on from the MultiMediaCard format (the predominant form of memory card storage at the time). The differences between the two formats are that SD cards are slightly thicker than the MMCs, and the electrical contacts are featured beneath the SD cards’ surface, preventing them from contact with the user’s fingertips. The SD card was meant as a competitor to the Sony memory stick, a similar form of memory storage for electronic devices. The cards are small in size, and easily transferrable between devices, allowing photos, music files and other data to be transported from one piece of equipment to another. The standard SD card size is 2GB. Many electronic devices are now compatible with the newer SDHC cards, which have a capacity of up to 32GB. Some older devices will not be compatible with the newer high capacity cards, therefore the standard cards should be used. However, most incompatibility issues can be solved with a firmware update. Another variation of the SD card is the microSD card, for use in newer mobile phones which may not be compatible with the larger cards. At launch, this format of the SD card was available in 32, 64 and 128MB. SD cards have a variety of capacities and transfer speeds. These have developed over the years with the introduction of micro and SDHC cards. The main advantage to using an SD card over a USB memory stick (or flash drive) is that most portable electronic devices are not compatible with USB memory sticks. USB storage devices are widely used in conjunction with desktop PCs and laptops, whereas SD cards are not. However, SD card readers can be obtained for a minimal price, meaning that PC users could easily obtain the means to use their SD cards with their computers, whereas there is not a method for USB sticks to be used with smaller electronic devices. USB sticks are also a more user-friendly form of data transportation, being slightly larger than SD cards and therefore easier to transport without being misplaced. In terms of storage sizes, both formats are able to offer roughly the same amount of data storage, depending on the product purchased.