Microsd

Information about Microsd

Dissected 64 MB microSD Card, showing cross section through memory chips and printed circuit board

microSD is a format for removable flash memory cards. It is derived from SanDisk TransFlash and is used mainly in mobile telephones, but also in handheld GPS devices, portable audio players, video game consoles and expandable USB flash memory drives.

It is currently (2007) the smallest memory card available commercially. At 15mm Ã— 11mm Ã— 0.7mm (about the size of a fingernail), it is about a quarter the size of an SD card. There are adapters which allow a microSD card to be used in devices intended for SD, miniSD, or MemoryStick Duo cards, however they are not universally compatible.

TransFlash and microSD cards are the same (each can be used in devices made for the other), except that microSD devices can also support NFC (Near Field Communication).^[1]

As of October 2007, microSD cards are available in capacities from 64MB to 6GB (with 8GB announced but not yet available from retailers). Cards at and beyond 4GB are available only in the newer SDHC format developed both by KingMax and by SanDisk. These have a storage density of 34 GB/cm³.

On 27th June 2007, Toshiba announced a 4GB microSDHC card and Sandisk announced 6GB and 8GB MicroSD cards for release "later in 2007".^[2]

On 17th May 2007, Samsung announced that they had developed an 8GB (68 GB/cm³) MicroSD card. This exceeds the current capacity and write speed of microSD cards and can be written at 4MB/s or faster. "This is also much faster than the SD Speed Class 2 designation carried by most competing microSD cards currently on the market [1]." As this card was just recently developed, it is not available for commercial or personal purchase yet.

History

A microSD card next to its SD adapter

The microSD format was invented by SanDisk. It was called T-Flash, then TransFlash and renamed microSD when adopted by the SD Card Association (SDA). Other flash card formats approved by the SDA include SD and miniSD.

The SDA announced microSD at CTIA Wireless 2005 on 14th March 2005 and approval of the final microSD specification was announced on 13th July that year. At launch, microSD cards were available in capacities of 32MB, 64MB, and 128MB. In July 2006, SanDisk introduced a 2GB microSD card at US$99.

Sandisk released a 4GB microSDHC in July 2007. Conforming to the same standards as regular SDHC cards, currently these cards are supported in Nokia N95 and E90 cellphones, the LG Chocolate Phone, the Motorola Z8, the BlackBerry Pearl 8120/8130, and SDHC compatible devices with the SDHC adapter. At launch these cards retail for US$99. ^[3]

In September 2007, Sandisk released the 6GB microSDHC for retail on their website, listed at US$99. The chip includes a class 4 speed performance rating, based on SD 2.00 specifications.^[4]

Manufacturer support

The microSD format is supported mainly by mobile phone manufacturers, of which Motorola adopted it first. Garmin make GPS receivers with maps on microSD cards.

Devices

Archos: 605 WiFi (4GB flash version), 405
Alcatel: OT-E801
BenQ-Siemens: EF61, E71, EF81, EL71, S82, SFG75, S88, CL71
BlackBerry: 8100 (Pearl), 8300 (Curve), 8800, 8830 (Gamma Ray)
E-TEN: glofiish X500, glofiish X500+, glofiish M700
FIC: Neo 1973
Garmin hand-held GPS: eTrex Vista Cx, Legend Cx, Venture Cx, GPSMap 60cx, 60csx, 76cx, Map76csx, StreetPilot i2, Street Pilot i3, etc.
HTC: Hermes (TyTN) (also badged as: O2 XDA trion, T-Mobile MDA Vario II, Vodafone 1605 VPA Compact III, Vodafone 1210, Orange SPV M3100, Dopod CHT 9000, Dopod 838 Pro, hTc Z, Qtek 9600, i-mate JasJam, Cingular 8525, Swissom XPA v1605, SoftBank X01HT, UTStarcom 6800), Monet (also badged as Virgin Lobster 700TV), HTC P3300 (also known as O2 XDA Orbit, T-Mobile MDA Compact III), HTC StrTrk, Cingular 3100, Cingular 3125, HTC MTeoR, P4350 (Herald), TyTN II (Kaiser)
i-mate: Smartflip, JasJam
Kyocera: KX55XO, Slider Sonic, Slider Remix
LG Electronics: U8360, U8380, U8500, U880, VX8300, Chocolate (VX8500), AX8600, KU250, KU311, Chocolate (VX8600), VX8700, VX-9900 (enV), LX550 (Fusic), LX570 (Muziq),CE500, CU320, CU500/TU500, LG Trax (CU575, L600v, Prada Phone KE850
Motorola: V360, E398, V635, V710, A780, E815, A840, E770, E815, E895, C975, V975, C980, V980, A1000, A1200, M1000,Maxx Ve E1000, V1000, ROKR, V1050, V1150, SLVR L7, Motorola L7e, E1060, E1120, RAZR (V3i, V3m, V3r, V3t, V3x, V3xx, V6), i870, i880, i885, i580, A1200, KRZR (K1, K1m), RIZR Z3 Motorola RIZR Z6 Z8, L7, Moto Q9h
NEC: N908
Nokia: 3110c, 3250, 6085, 6233, 6234, 6300, 5200, 5300, 5700, 5500, 6110 Navigator, 6120/6121 Classic, 6125, 6131/6126/6133, 6151, 6275i, 6300, 7373, 7390, E50, E61i, E65, E90, N75, N76, N95
Pioneer: AVIC-S1 Mobile Navigation System
Sagem: My V-76, My X 6-2, My501C, My401C, My411X
Samsung: SGH-D600, SGH-D807, SGH-D820, SGH-D900, SGH-E250, SGH-D900i SGH-E900,SGH-Z230, SGH-Z400, SGH-Z500, SGH-Z700, SGH-ZM60, SGH-i300, SGH-i320, SGH-i320N, SGH-i600, SGH-i607, SGH-P850, SGH-D510, SGH-X700, SGH-E870, SGH-E770, SGH-E900, SGH-S500i, SGH-X800, SGH-zx10, SPH-A920/MM-A920, SPH-A940, SPH-M610, SPH-M500, SCH-A950, SCH-A930, SCH-A990, SCH-U540, SCH-U740, SGH-T809, SGH-T609, SGH-T519, SGH-T629, a9, SGH-U600, SGH-U700, SGH-A707(SYNC), SGH-E490,samsung Blast
SanDisk Sansa: e200 series, c200 series, Express
Sanyo: SCP-8400
Song: Song DIC 338/A138
Sony Ericsson: K850 K618i W300i
T-Mobile: Dash (Smartphone), Wing (Smartphone), Sidekick 3
Vodafone: Vodafone 1210

Navman GPS devices use microSD cards to store extra maps.

All devices which support SD/miniSD can support microSD cards using an appropriate adapter (often sold with a microSD card). SanDisk publishes a list of mobile phones with memory card support [2] (in PDF format). This gives the type of the memory card slot and lists the support for still-image cameras, video capture and music.

SanDisk's e200 series MP3 players support microSD card expansion, allowing additional storage of up to 2GB.

Comparisons

**Technical comparison**
Type	MMC	RS-MMC	MMC Plus	SecureMMC	SD	SDIO	miniSD	microSD
SD Socket	Yes	Mechanical adapter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Electro-mechanical adapter	Electro-mechanical adapter
Pins	7	7	13	7	9	9	11	8
Form factor	Thin	Thin/short	Thin	Thin	Thick (exceptions possible)	Thick	Narrow/short/thin	Narrow/short/extrathin
Width	24 mm	24 mm	24 mm	24 mm	24 mm	24 mm	20 mm	11 mm
Length	32 mm	18 mm	32 mm	32 mm	32 mm	32 mm+	21.5 mm	15 mm
Thickness	1.4 mm	1.4 mm	1.4 mm	1.4 mm	2.1 mm (exceptions possible)	2.1 mm	1.4 mm	1 mm
SPI mode	Optional	Optional	Optional	Required	Required	Required	Required	Optional
1 bit mode	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
4 bit mode	No	No	Yes	?	Optional	Optional	Optional	Optional
8 bit mode	No	No	Yes	?	No	No	No	No
interrupts	No	No	No	No	No	Optional	No	No
Xfer clock	0–20 MHz	0–20 MHz	0–52 MHz	0–20 MHz?	0–25 MHz - 0–50 MHz	0–25 MHz	0–25 MHz?	0–25 MHz?
Max Transfer	20 Mbit/s	20 Mbit/s	416 Mbit/s	20 Mbit/s?	100 Mbit/s - 200 Mbit/s	100 Mbit/s	100 Mbit/s	100 Mbit/s
Max SPI Transfer	20 Mbit/s	20 Mbit/s	52 Mbit/s	20 Mbit/s	25 Mbit/s	25 Mbit/s	25 Mbit/s	25 Mbit/s
DRM	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	N/A	Yes	Yes
User encrypt	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Simplified Spec	Yes	Yes	No	Not yet?	Yes	Yes	No	No
Memb cost	$2500/yr (not required)				$2000/yr (General), $4500/yr (Executive)
Spec cost	$500		?	?	Member	Member	Member	Member
Host license	No	No	No	No	$1000/yr + memb
Mem card royalties	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
I/O card royalties	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1000/yr+memb	N/A	N/A
Open source compatible	Yes	Yes	Yes?	Yes?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Type	MMC	RS-MMC	MMC Plus	SecureMMC	SD	SDIO	miniSD	microSD

Table data compiled mostly from simplified versions of MMC and SDIO specifications and other data on SD card and MMC association web sites. Data for other card variations is interpolated. Capacity limit in all SD/MMC formats appears to be 128 GB in LBA mode (28-bit sector address).

References

1. ^ [4]
2. ^ [5]
3. ^ [6]
4. ^ [7]

5. [8]

External links

• • [ e] Memory cards
CompactFlash (CF) \| Microdrive (MD) \| JEIDA \| Memory Stick (MS/MS-PRO) \| miCard \| MultiMediaCard (MMC) \| PC Card \| SmartMedia (SM) \| Secure Digital (SD) \| SxS \| xD-Picture \| USB Comparison of memory cards \|

Flash memory is non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It is a technology that is primarily used in memory cards, and USB flash drives (thumb drives, handy drive, memory stick, flash stick, jump drive) for general storage and transfer of data
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SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK ), formerly SunDisk, is an American multinational corporation which designs and markets flash memory card products. SanDisk was founded in 1988 by Eli Harari and Sanjay Mehrotra, a non-volatile memory technology expert.
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Global Positioning System (GPS) is the only fully functional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Utilizing a constellation of at least 24 medium Earth orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, the system enables a GPS receiver to determine its
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A portable audio player is a personal, electronic device that allows the user to listen to recorded audio while mobile. Portable audio players became possible in the 1970s and continue to be developed today.
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video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or electronic device that manipulates the video display signal of a display device (a television, monitor, etc.) to display a game.
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USB flash drives are NAND-type flash memory data storage devices integrated with a USB (universal serial bus) interface. They are typically small, lightweight, removable and rewritable.
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memory card or flash memory card is a solid-state electronic flash memory data storage device used with digital cameras, handheld and laptop computers, telephones, music players, video game consoles, and other electronics.
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nail is a horn-like structure at the end of a human's or an animal's finger or toe. See also claw.

Parts of the nail

Anatomically fingernails and toenails
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Secure Digital

Top and bottom of SD Card, Mini SD Card and Micro SD Card.
Media type: Memory Card
Capacity: Maximum Capacity: 128 GB in LBA mode (28-bit sector address)
Developed by: SD Card Association
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Adapters in computing are hardware or software devices that convert transited data from one presentation to another. The data can be, for example, a message between objects in an application process, or a transition sent through a network.
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Near Field Communication or NFC, is a short-range wireless communication technology which enables the exchange of data between devices over a short distance (hands width). The technology is based on RFID, which makes it compatible with the existing contactless infrastructure
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This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article.
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miniSD Card

MiniSD Card and adapter
Capacity: 16 MB to 4 GB
Extended from: SD Card
Extended to: micro SD Card

The miniSD Card is a removable and portable memory device intended for use in cell phones/mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and
..... Click the link for more information.

Motorola Inc.

Public (NYSE: MOT )
Founded 1928
Headquarters Schaumburg, Illinois, USA

Key people Edward Zander, CEO & Chairman
Industry Telecommunications
Products Embedded systems
Microprocessors
Mobile phones
Two-Way radios
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Garmin Ltd.

Public: (NASDAQ: GRMN )
Founded 1989
Headquarters George Town, Cayman Islands

Key people Gary Burrell, Min Kao (CEO)
Industry Technology
Products GPS receivers, Avionics
Revenue 1.77 billion USD (2006)
Operating income 554.
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Archos Electronics

Public FOREX: ACOSF
Founded October 4 1988
Headquarters Igny, France

Key people Henri Crohas, Founder & Executive Chairman
Industry Electronics Manufacturer
Products Hard disks
Portable media players
PDA
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Alcatel-Lucent

Public (Euronext: ALU , NYSE: ALU , TYO: 6687 )
Founded 1898
Headquarters Paris, France

Key people Patricia Russo, CEO and Serge Tchuruk, chairman
Industry telecommunications
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BenQ Corporation

Public
Founded 1984
Headquarters 18 Jihu Road, Neihu, Taipei, Taiwan

Key people K.Y. Lee, CEO and Chairman; Sheaffer Lee, President and COO;
Jerry Wang, EVP and CMO;
Eric Ky Yu, CFO;
Industry Electronics
Employees 15,000+
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blackberries (singular, blackberry; genus Rubus, subgenus Eubatus; also called bramble or occasionally "bramble raspberry") are a widespread and well known group of several hundred closely related apomictic microspecies, native throughout the
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Blackberry Pearl

Screen 240x260 pixels, 65.536 Color TFT LCD
Ringtone Polyphonic Sound (72 voices), Real tones (MP3)
Memory 64MB Internal, MicroSD slot
Networks CDMA, EDGE, GSM 800, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900
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E-TEN is an electronics manufacturing company based in Taiwan, specializing in sophisticated handheld devices such as smartphones.

Founded in 1985 in Taipei, E-TEN initially became known for its Chinese language input system for DOS based computers.
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FIC may refer to:

Flight Information Centre, an aviation briefing facility for Canadian pilots
Fellowship for Intentional Community
First International Computer, Inc., the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer making the first OpenMoko phone.

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High Tech Computer

Public (TSEC: 2498 )
Founded 1997
Headquarters Taoyuan, Taiwan

Key people Cher Wang (Chairman), Peter Chou (CEO), Fred Liu (COO)
Industry Telecommunications
Revenue $2.
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The HTC TyTN (pronounced "Titan"), is a 3.5G/HSDPA Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 Pocket PC phone manufactured by High Tech Computer Corporation of Taiwan. It is a part of the first line of phones directly marketed and sold by HTC.
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