MicroSD

File:MicroSD vs SD.jpg

A microSD card next to its SD adapter

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 × 11mm × 1mm (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).

As of November 2007, microSD cards are available in capacities from 64MB to 8GB. Cards at and beyond 4GB are available only in the newer SDHC format.

A 512 MB Kingston microSD card next to two Patriot microSD adapters.

Manufacturer support

The microSD format is supported mainly by mobile phone manufacturers, of which Motorola adopted it first. Garmin makes 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, 8130 (Pearl), 8300 (Curve), 8310, 8320, 8800, 8820, 8830 (World Edition)
• E-TEN: glofiish X500, glofiish X500+, glofiish M700, glofiish X800
• FIC: Neo 1973T
• 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, Orange SPV E650, 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: AX8600, LG Shine CU720, KU250, KU311, U8360, U8380, U8500, U880, VX8300, Chocolate (VX8500), Chocolate (VX8600), VX8700, LG Venus (VX8800), VX9400, VX9900 (enV), VX10000 (Voyager), LX550 (Fusic), LX570 (Muziq),CE500, CU320, CU500/TU500, LG Trax (CU575, L600v, Prada Phone KE850, Rumor
• 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 Z3Motorola RIZR Z6 Z8, L7, Moto Q9h
• NEC: N908
• Nokia: 3109c, 3110c, 3250, 6085, 6233, 6234, 6300, 6500 Slide, 5200, 5300, 5700, 5500, 6110 Navigator, 6120/6121 Classic, 6125, 6131/6126/6133, 6151, 6275i, 6300, 6301, 6555, 7373, 7390, E50, E51, E61i, E65, E90, N75, N76, N81,N82, N95, N810
• Orange: Berlin
• PalmOne: Palm Centro
• Patriot: PC133
• Pantech: Duo 810C
• Pioneer: AVIC-S1 Mobile Navigation System
• Sagem: My V-76, My X 6-2, My501C, My401C, My411X, My511x
• Samsung: SGH-D600, SGH-D807, SGH-D820, SGH-D900, SGH-E210, SGH-E250, SGH-D900i SGH-E900,SGH-Z230, SGH-ZV40, 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,SGH-T729 (Blast)
• SanDisk Sansa: e200 series, c200 series, Express, View
• Sanyo: SCP-8400
• Song: Song DIC 338/A138
• T-Mobile: Dash (Smartphone), Wing (Smartphone), Sidekick 3
• Various Nintendo DS backup devices (I.E. M3 Simply)
• Vodafone: Vodafone 1210, Vodafone 719

Navman GPS devices use microSD cards to store extra maps.

Most devices which support SD/miniSD can support microSD cards using an appropriate adapter (often sold with a microSD card), but support is not universal. SanDisk publishes a list of mobile phones with memory card support [1] (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. [2]

RCA Pearl MP3 players (TH1100, TH1101 and TH1102) support the use of MicroSD cards for additional storage. [3]

See also

• Comparison of memory cards
• MiniSD Card
• SD Card

References

5. http://usa.apacer.com/us/products/microSD_Card.htm

External links

• Memory Card Speeds
• SanDisk microSD and microSDHC Product Page
• Micro-SD Card Information
• Apacer microSD Product Page
• SimpleTech microSD Product Page
• Kingmax Digital microSD Product Page
• SD Card Association
• PhysOrg article about SanDisk's 512 MB microSD card release
• microSD pictures and descriptions
• Micro SD Explained