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Old May 30, 2009 | 10:07 pm
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Post micro SD cards - basic questions

OK... so I recently purchased a 16GB class 4 micro SD card that was kindly muled back to EZE by a fellow FTer. Im a happy camper.... alas, here is a normal round of stupid Gaucho questions:

- are there already class 6 micro SD cards available..?
- my card came with a 'reader'... what for...?

I ask the reader question because this reader does not have a screen or a headphone jack.... dont I just use a real device to 'read' the card...????

Please help and kindly keep the laughter low so my dumb-... nontech ego is not hurt....
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Old May 31, 2009 | 7:48 am
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A card reader is typically used to get data from the card onto a PC. I use a CF card in my digital camera, then plug it into a card reader attached via USB to my PC to download them for processing and sharing. I can read the card, look at the images just fine on the camera itself, but need to get them off the camera/card so I can share them. Yes, I could use a USB connection right to the camera, but a card reader is much faster and easier.

Class 6 micro SD cards are at least being advertised/sold - I have no experience with them - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211380
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Old May 31, 2009 | 9:20 am
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I use the 2gb ones in my camera and GPS. The SD cards will show up as any attached drive to the computer ie D:, E: etc. You can use them basically as any other drive. You should probably format it before use.

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Old May 31, 2009 | 12:36 pm
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Originally Posted by CPRich
A card reader is typically used to get data from the card onto a PC. I use a CF card in my digital camera, then plug it into a card reader attached via USB to my PC to download them for processing and sharing. I can read the card, look at the images just fine on the camera itself, but need to get them off the camera/card so I can share them. Yes, I could use a USB connection right to the camera, but a card reader is much faster and easier.

Class 6 micro SD cards are at least being advertised/sold - I have no experience with them - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211380
Are there micro SD card readers with no USB connections... or am I talking plain nonsense...???
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Old May 31, 2009 | 1:07 pm
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Originally Posted by Gaucho100K
Are there micro SD card readers with no USB connections... or am I talking plain nonsense...???
Sure. Many laptops now have built-in SD(HC) readers. Just use your SD card adaptor and stick it in.
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Old May 31, 2009 | 1:36 pm
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Originally Posted by Gaucho100K
Are there micro SD card readers with no USB connections... or am I talking plain nonsense...???
Did it come with a reader or an adapter? Is the 'reader' the size of a miniSD card with a slot that you can put the microSD into? We have an Olympus camera that came with such an adapter. This lets me put either a miniSD card or micoSD card into the camera. It looks something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Sandisk-MicroS.../dp/B000TLXCDW

PS Maybe the Olympus adapter is XD but same principle.
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Old May 31, 2009 | 2:31 pm
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first about the 1's aand 0's. HC is a relatively new way to format SD cards. there are SD, and SD(HC) cards. the card is physically identical, but many computers only 1 or 2 years old cannot read the new format. in order to read this new format, one gets an adapter that usually plugs into the usb port, and allows reading of the new sd(HC) format.

there is way too much information here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card

now, physical size. the SD comes in three(?) different sizes. regular, tiny, and itty bitty. since most computers and reader adapters will only mechanically accept regular sized sd card, there are mechanical adapters to connect the smaller cards into the full sized(original) sd slot.

for a bit more confusion, there is an MMC card, which i think is the same size as the sd. read the wiki if you want to know about it.
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Old May 31, 2009 | 4:23 pm
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Well... in my case I dont care so much about a computer being able to read my SDHC card... I know it works for my upcoming cell phone... still, I cant understand what on earth the "reader" is for....

????????????????
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Old May 31, 2009 | 4:26 pm
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Originally Posted by slawecki
for a bit more confusion, there is an MMC card, which i think is the same size as the sd. read the wiki if you want to know about it.
I think that MMC are a tiny bit thinner than SD. But they are very close.

Originally Posted by Gaucho100K
Well... in my case I dont care so much about a computer being able to read my SDHC card... I know it works for my upcoming cell phone... still, I cant understand what on earth the "reader" is for....

????????????????
You would use the "reader" to mount the card on your computer. If you aren't going to do that then you can safely just put the reader in a file somewhere and not worry about it.
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Old May 31, 2009 | 9:55 pm
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A perfect example of what you'd use the reader for is if you wanted to put MP3 files onto your phone. The quickest way is to put the microSD card into the SD adapter (what you're calling the "reader" and put this SD "card" into the PC - either directly if it supports it, or with a USB adapter. Then you can see the microSD card as a drive on the PC and copy all the MP3s to it.

This is generally much quicker than putting the microSD card into the phone and connecting the phone to the PC with USB.
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Old May 31, 2009 | 10:14 pm
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Originally Posted by Gaucho100K
Well... in my case I dont care so much about a computer being able to read my SDHC card... I know it works for my upcoming cell phone... still, I cant understand what on earth the "reader" is for....

????????????????
Can you find a picture of the reader and post a link to it?
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Old Jun 1, 2009 | 1:23 am
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Originally Posted by yosithezet
Can you find a picture of the reader and post a link to it?
I asked Mr Gaucho to do that in the other thread where he was asking about this.

Mr Gaucho .. is this what it looks like?

http://www.cheapchips.com.au/memory/...packaging.html

If not, please take a pic and post it, or try to describe it in detail. Even better, if it has a part number on it, post the details. If we can figure out what the heck you are talking about, we will be happy to explain it to you, but we can't read your mind and we can't see what you are seeing.

You said you bought this thing? Do you have a link to it online somewhere?

-David
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Old Jun 1, 2009 | 1:31 am
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Does it look like one of these?

http://tinyurl.com/kp2m43

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Old Jun 1, 2009 | 2:27 am
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Originally Posted by Gaucho100K
I cant understand what on earth the "reader" is for....
Here is a "compatibility kit" that I think covers a lot of questions (one picture being worth a thousand words)...http://images.frys.com/art/product/b...774082.box.GIF
  • The big thing at right is the "reader" - it plugs into a USB port
  • Top and left are the standard and mini adapters SD for plugging the micro chip into various kinds of devices that use SD in those form factors
  • At bottom is the MicroSD itself, which plugs into the three things listed

http://images.frys.com/art/product/b...774082.box.GIF
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Old Jun 1, 2009 | 5:36 am
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Originally Posted by LIH Prem
Does it look like one of these?

http://tinyurl.com/kp2m43

No...

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