SD and Micro SD Card Buyers Guide
SD Flash Memory Cards for Every Application and Budget
Not all SD Cards and Micro SD Cards are created equal. Some work better in specific types of electronic devices. Find out what kind of SD card to buy for which gadget.
Secure Digital (SD) cards come in 3 basic types. Full size SD cards are about the size of a large postage stamp and are often found in digital cameras, digital photo frames, and portable computing devices. Mini SD cards are roughly half the size of a full size SD card and are found in smaller portable devices. The smallest portable devices such as cellular telephones often make use of the smallest SD variant, Micro SD cards. While not as spacious or universal as current USB hard drives SD cards can pack a huge amount of memory into a tiny space, but with size come some tradeoffs.
SD, Mini SD, and Micro SD Card Capacity and Compatibility
Compared to other forms of flash media, SD cards can hold as much or more data than most other types. With a theoretical maximum size of 128 gigabytes, full size sd cards and micro sd cards currently can be found being manufactured in sizes up to 32 GB by vendors such as SanDisk. SD cards are also the most widely used in terms of device compatibility. SD cards are able to be used in many different types of devices, and through the use of adapters can often be used in devices not specifically designed for the SD card itself.
Secure Digital (SD) Card Adapters
SD flash media is very flexible in terms of use. Micro SD cards can be used in Mini or full-size SD devices with the use of an adapter. Mini SD cards can be used in full-size SD card readers and devices through the use of a similar adapter. In each case the smaller card slips inside a pocket on the larger adapter, allowing the micro or mini sd card to act and be used in devices built for the full size versions. This is especially handy when transferring digital photos, audio files, and other media off of a cell phone's micro SD card and onto or off of a computer. There are currently SD adapters available for almost every other type of flash media.
Differences Between SD, Mini SD, and Micro SD Cards
While all 3 variations have the same theoretical capacity they do not have the same ability to move data at high speeds. Many vendors now produce high speed versions of the full size SD cards that are most often used in photographic equipment. These high speed SD cards can write data at up to 20MB per second allowing for high quality digital video as well as high megapixel digital camera use.
The wonderful thing about SD cards is their ease of use and almost universal compatibility across hundreds of different electronic devices. In general, the only real consideration a buyer must have is to decide on what capacity is needed and on whether or not a high speed SD card would be appropriate for the application it is to be used in.
