Memory cards

Memory Cards (Global Market)

Main article: Memory cards (world market)

CompactFlash The format was developed by SanDisk in 1994. The thoughtfulness and stability of promoting the standard to the market has led to the fact that CF cards for a long time have become one of the most popular drives for mobile devices, and only recently have become inferior to competitors, in particular to the SD format.

Of the advantages, it is worth highlighting: low power consumption (cards consume about 5% of the usual power consumption of 1.8 "and 2.5" form factor hard disk drives), high compatibility due to the built-in controller, durability (according to the developers, the lifetime of the cards is approximately 100 years).

There are two types of cards: I and II. Types differ only in body thickness: 3.3 versus 5 mm, respectively. Interestingly, Compact Flash II was developed when there was a need for large maps. Now the need for CF II cards has disappeared, since CF I has caught up with the volume of CF II cards.

These cards are widely used in professional technology (for example, in SLR cameras).

MMC (MultiMediaCard) Development of Hitachi, SanDisk and Siemens Semiconductors (Infineon Technologies) in 1997.

MultiMedia Card is one of the smallest removable storage devices that has its own memory controller. An interesting point, MMC cards contain 7 contacts, of which 6 are actually used, and the seventh is formally considered reserved for the future.

The advantages of the format are miniature size and low power consumption, minus - slow interface RS-MM.

Memory Stick (MS) This type of card was developed by Sony in 1998. The appearance of the format was a kind of marketing move, but then the cards received recognition, and it was decided to continue the development of the standard. These memory cards are used in Sony digital photo, audio and video technology.

Of the features, it is worth noting the proprietary MagicGate technology for protecting information from unauthorized access.

In 2000, Sony developed an improved type of its memory cards - Memory Stick Duo. From the usual MemoryStick, the Duo differs in size, weight and power consumption. When using MemoryStick Duo in devices designed for ordinary MemoryStick, a special adapter is required.

The latest update of MS cards is marked M2 and is intended for use in cellular phones of SonyEricsson.

xD Picture (Extreme Digital) This type of cards was developed by FujiFilm and Olympus to replace the outdated SmartMedia format. xD Picture is used mainly in digital cameras of these companies.

Of the shortcomings, it is worth highlighting the absence of cards of this type with a volume of more than 2 GB, although theoretically the volume can reach 8 Gigabytes.

SD (Secure Digital) The format was developed by Matsushita, SanDisk, Toshiba in 2000.

The main advantages of the format are miniature (card sizes microSD are 11 x 15 x 1 mm, weight - about 1 gram), large capacity, high write/read speed. Cards of this format have cryptographic protection against unauthorized copying, increased protection of information on the card from accidental erasure or destruction.

Currently, this type of card is the standard for most modern mobile phones, communicators, MP3 players, navigators, etc.

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Memory Card Types