Memory Cards for Mobile Phones and PDAs

CompactFlash
Card

As used in a host of products, such as the Psion
Series 5mx, IPAQ and Pocket Loox Pocket
PCs, and a wide range of digital cameras. For
more on how CF cards work, see Pscience
5’s CF page

Below, you’ll find a summary of CF card prices from online suppliers:

• Amazon
  – Last time we checked, Amazon were offering Viking 1 gig cards
  for £14.
• Dabs.com – Fast reliable delivery at low prices
• eBay.co.uk
  – bid for new
  cards at low prices!

For advice on CF cards for
the Psion range, see our Psion FAQ
page

MMC Card

Weighing less than two grams and taking up the area of a postage
stamp, MultiMediaCards are ideal for use in portable devices like
digital audio players, digital cameras, and PDAs. In addition to
its distinct size advantage over other removable memory, the MultiMediaCard’s
low power draw makes it highly suitable for battery-powered mobile
applications. MMC cards will fit into devices that have an SD slot
– MMC cards are the same size, and are often much cheaper than SD
cards, because they’re an ‘open’ standard (SD card manufacturers
have to pay royalties, and MMC card manufacturers don’t!).

Note that there’s also a variant of this card, the RSMMC (Reduced
Size MultiMedia Card).

Below, you’ll find a list of some online MMC card suppliers:

• Amazon
  – Stock a wide range of MMC cards at some of the lowest prices
  around
• Consider
  bidding for an MMC card at Ebay.co.uk
  – nab a bargain
• PC
  World‘s accessory section
• eBay.co.uk– bid for new cards at low prices!

SD
card

The SD form factor represents the one of the smallest, secure flash memory card
in the consumer market today and is flexible for use in today’s hi-tech devices including MP3 players, PDAs, digital cameras, the Sony Reader, and even games consoles like the Nintendo Wii.

SD cards are the same
size as MMC cards (although slightly thicker). The ‘Secure’ part
of a Secure Digital card refers to the fact that it’s possible to
use these cards to write data in an encrypted way, for protection
of copyright (e.g. for e-books, music and video). You can find out more about the format from sdcard.org.

Below, you’ll find a summary of suppliers:

• Amazon
  – Always a good choice for reliable delivery at good prices – Currently offering a Viking 1 gig card for a silly £11
• Dabs.com – Fast reliable delivery at low prices
• Dabs.com – Great online store for PC accessories, including some cut price memory cards
• eBay.co.uk
  – bid for new
  cards at low prices!
• PC
  World – There’s a small range in their Accessories section

Micro SD
card

Even smaller than a Mini-SD, these tiny cards are being used more and more in smartphones.
Below are few suppliers:

• Amazon – At the time of writing, they’re stocking a SanDisk Micro SD 1GB plus SD Adapter for £18
• eBay.co.uk – bid for new
  cards at low prices!

Mini-SD
card

With smaller and smaller mobile phones being released, the SD card
has shrunk. It behaves the same as a standard SD card, but just 38% of the
size.

Below, you’ll find a summary of suppliers:

• Amazon
  – At the time of writing, they’re listing the Lexar range – 64Meg
  for £17 and 128Meg for £19. Not as many available
  as Amazon, but this is bound to change…
• Dabs.com – Fast reliable delivery on a range of cards
• eBay.co.uk
  – bid for new
  cards at low prices!

Memory
Stick

The ultra-small, thin design is ideal for use in Sony digital cameras,
some camcorders, and PDAs.

The format also includes the Memory Stick Duo, as used in the Sony
Ericsson P800 – these are about a third of the size of a Sony
Memory Stick.

Below, you’ll find a summary of suppliers:

• Amazon
  – At the time of writing, Amazon are offering Sony 256MB Memory
  Stick for just over £30, but prices change frequently.
• BT
  Shop – Fast reliable delivery on a range of cards
• eBay.co.uk
  – bid for new
  Memory Sticks at low prices!

SmartMedia

SmartMedia (SSFDC) memory cards provide mobile data storage in a
very small inter-changeable format. SSFDC consists of a single NAND
flash EEPROM chip embedded in a thin plastic card. It can be transported
between digital systems including consumer and portable electronic
devices, PDAs, digital cameras, pagers, MP3 digital music players
and more.

Below, you’ll find a summary of SmartMedia card prices from large
suppliers:

• Amazon
  – A good choice for smart media cards
• Dabs.com – Fast reliable delivery on a range of cards
• eBay.co.uk
  – bid for new
  cards at low prices!