Compact Flash card (CF) is a type of a data storage device, especially useful for portable electronic devices. It can be used directly in a CF card slot with an adapter. It makes use of flash memory. Based on physical features, there are two types of Flashcards: Type I (3.3mm thick) and the thicker Type II (CF2) cards (5mm thick).

First produced by SanDisk in 1994, Compact Flash card is among the first and the oldest and also the most successful brands and is now used for a variety of devices which includes laptops, portable audio recorders and desktop computers and cameras.

Flash memory devices consume very less power and yet have good transfer speeds. They can also be switched from one system to another. They are also designed to adjust to very rapid changes in temperature or in voltage. The storage capacity of a Compact Flash card ranges from 128 MB to about 64 GB. However, 256 MB and 2 GB are the most popular choices in Europe.

Flash memory has a specific quality which allows a section of its memory cells to get erased in a single 'flash', very much reminiscent of a camera flash function. This reminds one of the ease with which erasure of data can be carried out, freeing space for recording new data onto it. Flash memory being non-volatile and solid state, can be electrically erased and rewritten. Flash memory allows multiple memory locations to be erased or written in one programming operation. It can thus operate at much higher read-access speeds. Better shock resistance than hard disks is another of its useful feature. Features as these make these cards much more preferable over the others such as battery-powered devices.

A limitation of this card is that being easily rewritable memory, it can be overwritten without warning leading to loss of data. System failure, power fluctuations, corruption caused by hardware crash or software malfunctions are the other limitations.

Flash memory stores one bit of information in an array of transistors, called 'cells'. Compact Flash Cards are built on the basis of the type of logic gate used in each storage cell and are thus of two types: NOR flash and NAND flash. Recently however, some flash memory devices called multi-level cell devices, can store more than one bit per cell. NOR flash cell has two gates: the Control Gate and the Floating Gate. NAND Flash has a different mechanism: tunnel injection for writing and tunnel release for erasing.The market demand today is tilting towards the lower-priced NAND flash.

You must have heard a lot about memory cards. But if you are wondering what they are and how they work then you have come to the right place. Here we provide you with a primer on everything you need to know about SD memory cards.

What are they?

SD memory, or secure Digital Cards, is an external storage mechanism that stores data. They are predominantly used in digital cameras to save photographs. When a picture is taken the photograph is saved to the SD memory card. That data can then be transferred from the SD memory card via an adaptor or memory card reader to a computer, or other devices such as a digital photo frame.

SD memory cards can also be used as an alternative to USB Flash Drives. Every computer comes with a fixed amount of memory. Most users will have additional memory requirements, for example storing photos, music or movies. In such cases a SD memory card can fulfil this requirement.

The measurements

Most SD cards measure around 32 by 24 by 2.1 mm in dimensions. However the thickness varies and they can be up to 1.4 mm slim. These cards are also asymmetrical in their shape so that one cannot insert the card into the slot upside down. You will also find that the contacts are recessed so they cannot be easily damaged. The data transfer rate is especially high with an SD memory card which makes them preferable to other storage media.

The end usage

SD memory cards can easily be used in computers which have an SD memory card slot. For those that do not, a memory card reader or adaptor can be used instead to connect the SD memory card to a computer or peripheral device. Several SD memory cards come with USB connectors built in, which means they can be used as a SD memory card and USB device.

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A Secure Digital (SD) memory card is a portable flash memory chip used in devices like digital cameras, cellular phones, and audio players. The SD memory card is about the size of a postage stamp and comes in various capacities and transfer speeds. Generally speaking, the greater the capacity of the SD memory card, the faster the transfer speed.

Flash memory is the same type of memory used in memory sticks or flash drives. However, flash memory cards are formatted according to various specifications. Digital devices are designed to be compatible with one of the available card formats.

"SD" is a specific card format, based on the older Multi-Media Card (MMC) specification. The SD memory card is one of the most popular flash card formats in use today. The "Secure Digital" component of the SD memory card is a copyright protection scheme built into the chip. Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) is intended to keep protected material from being excessively copied.

The SD memory card is a great way to store and transfer images, music, video and other data from a portable device to a PC. Some newer computers have a card reader built into the system, or an inexpensive external card reader can be purchased. Since there are many different types of flash memory cards, be sure the card reader is made for the SD memory card, or capable of reading various formats. Aside from the standard SD memory card, there are also miniSD and microSD cards. These cards are much smaller and not compatible with standard SD memory card slots.

The SD memory card might have a protective lock-switch at the top left. Sliding the switch into an open position allows the SD memory card to be written to or read. Sliding the switch closed allows reading only. This protects data from accidental overwrite.

When it comes to storing music or images, some people prefer to buy several smaller capacity SD memory cards in order to organize their library of data. It may be easier to locate songs or images you want by labeling several smaller cards. Others prefer getting the highest capacity card the device will support, to keep everything on one SD memory card. If this is preferred, it is wise to backup the card to the PC in case it the card is lost or damaged.

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Now that you have finally upgraded from a traditional 35mm camera to a new digital camera, you will come to realize that the digital camera no longer needs the traditional film to store images, but instead uses a modern digital storage medium called the memory card to save all the precious pictures.

To put it in simplest terms, a memory card is an electronic data storage device. It is also referred to as a flash memory card. Apart from digital cameras, you will find the memory card in use in many types of electronic equipment such as the handheld and laptop computers, cell phones, music players and video game consoles.

Generally, you will find the memory cards in solid state, but sometimes they are also available in a non-solid state, though these types of memory cards do not use flash memory. These are based on cutting age technologies and used mostly by the gamers and the technical professionals and are often referred to as "mem-cards" by these techies.

There are different types and qualities of memory cards using various types of flash memory format. Many of the leading electronic companies in the world offer a wide range of models packed with many state of the art features, including high re-recordability, power-free storage, compact size and many more.

It was during the early 1990's that memory cards were introduced to the market for the first time, and it soon revolutionized the whole concept of data storage in the PCs, cell phones and other industrial applications. The late 1990's and early 2000 witnessed the competition amongst electronic giants heat up as they battled to introduce more and more sophisticated and compact memory card formats to the market, such as xD Picture Card and Memory Stick, thus meeting the growing need for smaller and smaller memory cards for compact electronics such as PDAs, cell phones and digital cameras etc.

The result is that today the market is flooded with a new generation of memory cards in a variety of formats ranging from SmartMedia and CompactFlash to the more sophisticated Memory Stick variants and xDs. In recent years the more popular memory card for digital cameras is the SD/MMC but with stiff competition coming from the Memory Stick formats such as xD and CompactFlash.

Memory cards are manufactured by many of the world's leading electronic companies and you can get the device in the electronic and computer section of virtually any computer or electronics store. The cards come with different speed limit and varying memory sizes, and these differences account for the wide fluctuation in their price range.

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