Flash Memory Cards for Cell Phones

Flash memory cards offer an easy, fast and reliable way for storing and transferring digital files and media on many electronic devices. With a memory card, you can easily upload, download, store and capture images and music with your phone.

So while memory cards can turn GSM cellular phones into fully-loaded, multimedia entertainment units, which one should you use? There are several types, some of which work better on some phones than others. Hopefully, our guide will help you figure out which type works for you.

What is a Flash Memory Card?

A memory card is very much like the hard drive in your computer, except that it is portable and comes with superior advantages.

Almost all memory cards use solid state NAND Flash technology. Unlike your computer’s hard drive, NAND Flash memory has no moving parts. This means they aren’t susceptible to jarring, which would lead to data-reading errors.

Flash memory cards is also nonvolatile, which means that data is stable on the card. It’s not threatened by a loss of power and does not need to be periodically refreshed.

Secure Digital Memory Cards

The 4 different Secure Digital memory card types were originally developed by SanDisk, Toshiba and Panasonic. Designed as an extension of the MuiltMediaCard (MMC) format, SD cards are slightly thicker and have faster read speeds.

• SD - The standard SD card is about the size of a postage stamp. The high-speed versions are well suited to high-megapixel digital cameras, including ones found on higher-end cell phones like the Nokia N95 GSM phone.
  
  
• miniSD – Smaller than the standard SD card, they are smaller as well in terms of speed and capacity. miniSD memory cards are typically sold with an adapter and have seen their capacities rise from one gigabyte to as much as four.
  
  miniSD cards are commonly used to store pictures taken by cameraphones and music for mp3 phones. Some of the more popular handsets that use the miniSD card include Motorola Q GSM phones and some Nokia models like the Nokia N80, Nokia E70, Nokia N93, Nokia N73, and Nokia E61.
  
  
• microSD - Also called TransFlash (TF), microSD memory cards are about the size of a fingernail with storage capacities of up to two gigabytes. It is currently one of the more popular memory card expansion formats for Motorola cellular phones.
  
  
• SDIO - Secure Digital Input-Output (SDIO) memory cards aren't typically used for memory expansion. Instead, they’re used in PDAs and smartphones to add extra functionality such as WiFi connectivity.

Memory Sticks

Memory sticks are used only with Sony products, and as such are commonly found in Sony Ericsson cellular phones. Most of the stick formats have a “Pro” version which offers faster read/write speeds and increased capacity.

M2 memory sticks are an emerging format and are found in several of the latest Sony Ericsson models.

Other Memory Card Types

While Secure Digital memory cards and Memory Sticks rule the data storage market for cell phones, other technologies have emerged that deserve a look, depending on your mobile phone.

RS-MMC (Reduced Size MultiMedia Cards) are the most noticeable to come along. These postage-sized cards can be found in a number of Nokia cellular phones. Other memory card types you may have seen are the Compact Flash, MicroDrives, and MMCmicro Cards.

The driving force behind the growing demand for memory cards today is their usage in mobile phones. As their storage capacity and transfer speeds get higher and prices fall, Flash memory cards will likely replace most of today’s storage mediums.