The evolution of flash media and rapid advances in flash techn ology
have been impressive. In 1990, the first “flash chip” was shipped. Used in the
manufacture of another product, this flash chip boasted a whopping 4 MB
(yes, that’s megabytes, not gigabytes) worth of memory. SanDisk shipped the
world’s first Compact Flash card in 1994, and the race was on. In 1998, the
maximum flash-card storage capacity was 128 MB. Today, just nine years later,
16 GB is the maximum. Flash-memory storage capacity has doubled practically
every year since 1998, outpacing even Moore’s Law, which states that computing capacity doubles every 18 months.
Why is this increasing memory capacity for portable devices so important?
Today our lifestyle can be described with one word: mobile. We are a world
on the go. We want flexible hours, home offices, connected networks, constant communication. We want access to our data at any and all times, when
and where we want it. We want to transfer and transport files, pictures,
video, audio, text—our lives. We want to do this quickly, easily, securely
and often. Flash media allows all of these things to happen. Right now!
Today, flash cards and USB 2.0 flash drives are used by millions of
people around the world in digital cameras, MP3 players, PDAs, notebook
computers and video game consoles. Possibly the largest market for flash
cards is making its presence felt this year. The majority of cell phones
produced from January 2007 forward will include flash-card slots
for memory expansion.
As you might expect, consumer electronic devices that need flash media
require varying flash-card designs and capacities. For precisely that reason,
flash media come in a variety of forms, or form factors, as engineers call
them. The most popular are:
Compact Flash. Popular with demanding photographers because of its
large memory capacity. High-speed performance is important.
Secure Digital (SD). The most popular form factor. Used in almost every
consumer electronic category. Most digital cameras use SD. A new format this
year, SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity), begins at 4 GB capacity but may
not work in older devices. Look for devices with the SDHC logo.
Memory Stick Pro Duo (MSPD). Used mostly for Sony digital cameras,
video recorders and PSP/PS- 3 gaming consoles.
USB 2.0 Flash Drives. These have become very popular. The devices are
about a half-inch wide and a quarter-inch thick, roughly the size of a large
paper clip. These amazingly fast and convenient drives allow the user to store
as much as 8 GB worth of data, transport it, then download it just about anywhere. New “U3” technology ensures the most secure use of these cool drives.
Make sure your flash-drive purchase includes U3.
xD-Picture Card. This flash-card form factor is exclusively for use with
Olympus or Fuji xD-compatible digital devices. Only the Olympus xD-Picture
Card has the “panorama” feature.
Mobile products. The two key form factors are Mini SD and Micro SD.
Currently, maximum capacity is 2 GB. Once you see the actual size of this
fantastic product, you will not believe your eyes: It’s about one-quarter the
size of a postage stamp, and almost as thin! A
