4GB mini-SD flash cards
Flash memory is going through some major miniturization. Mini-SD cards are popular upgrades for cell phones and other compact devices, and are approximately one-quarter the size of its bigger brother. The memory cells can only be made so small, so a 4GB capacity is really quite an achievement. The mini-SD cards come with a full-sized SD adapter so it can be used in just about any SD device you have.
8GB SDHC Flash cards
Cameron showed off Kingston’s 8GB SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) memory. He mentioned that most people will buy this for their digital cameras, although it can be used to upgrade other devices like Pocket PCs, MP3 players, and even high-definition video cameras! These cards use the FAT32 file system, so you need to make sure your gadget can support it (otherwise it will only see 2GB of the 8GB available, and will probably want to format it to FAT).
Kingston’s SD cards are available in different classes, which identify their performance
- Class 2: 2MB/second
- Class 4: 4MB/second
- Class 6: 6MB/second
Class 6 8GB Kingston SD card should be priced around $100,and the lower classes are available for less. If your device has a built-in write butter (as a good SLR does), then you could get away with purchasing a slower-speed card. It’s amazing how the flash industry has changed over the past several years, because I remember purchasing a measly 128MB card for about that price. It is actually cheaper (per gigabyte) to purchase an 8GB card that it would be to purchase four 2GB cards at $30 each, making this card an even better value since you won’t have to switch out modules.
