Panasonic announces 4GB SDHC SD card
We're not sure why they keep
working on ancient memory card formats like SecureDigital (if it's not thumbnail-sized or smaller, we're not
interested), but advances in this venerable format continue unabated, with cards now trickling out that support the new
SDHC (for SD High
Capacity), or SD 2.0, standard. Panasonic has just announced a 2.0-compliant 4GB model that appears to fall under the
class 2 category of the new format's rating system (out of 2, 4, and 6), which refers to the card's minimum transfer
speed in MBps. SDHC cards, which are only compatible with FAT32-compliant current-gen readers, promise capacities as
high as 32GB, while offering the DRM-friendly security features that content producers love to frustrate us with.
Panny's first entrant into the SDHC game will be available worldwide this summer.
Filed under: Storage
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
distantbody @ Mar 10th 2006 6:27AM
"(if it's not thumbnail-sized or smaller, we're not interested)"
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Don't give the format manufacturers an excuse, you know they'll take it...
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SD should be the 1 and only format.
Blogging HQ @ Mar 10th 2006 6:40AM
This is great news as I find the 1gb card in my PSP very small and a 4gb card with give me a lot more room to put photos and music on it...cool
Part @ Mar 10th 2006 6:41AM
Looking forward to trying out this one. SDHC is very promising standard.
MrPolarBare @ Mar 10th 2006 7:11AM
This is NOT an ancient memory card. Sure, it has been around forever, but Panasonic's new line of P2 Memory cards which are used in their HD Camcorders are basically big memory cards with 4 SD cards built inside of it. Panasonic is trying to revolutionize the video-production industry with tapeless recording. The main problem is HD content takes up about 1GB per minute. Currently, you can only buy 8GB P2 cards. Now it looks like you will be able to buy 16GB all the way to 128GB P2 memory cards (4 x 32GB SD). So this is big news for the video-production industry. Big news indeed.
OddManOut @ Mar 10th 2006 7:41AM
Hmm...can't tell if The Mighty E is being sarcastic or not...but given that they've poked fun at the imminently(sp?) losable (sp?) nature of the forthcomming nigh micro-cosmic newer memory standards, I tend to think they're joking...
But this product is good. More memory in the same physical space is always a good thing.
As for SD being the only standard...I kinda disagree. SD+CF+PCMCIA(or PCCARD for you whipersnaps) make the perfect triumverate IMHO. SD is great for the most size/space concious applications, CF allows for more storage and/or the use of mechanical components, PCMCIA is CF only bigger, and with the right adpaters they are immutable (in one direction anyway).
But as for the other 20 odd standards supported by your average multi-card reader...kinda redundant, superfluous, etc...
4x4van @ Mar 10th 2006 7:42AM
What's the best format? I love that it's an old format, I remember buying Smartmedia then it disappearing a year later, then buying compact flash, now it's gone.....unless you have a Digital SLR camera and now there is MiniSD and whatever the other format is for phones....STOP THE MADNESS!!
Unomi @ Mar 10th 2006 7:42AM
Sometimes I get the feeling, that the comments contain more interesting information than the article itself.... This is why I love pages where people can leave info on for knowledge sharing....
- Unomi -
Andy @ Mar 10th 2006 7:53AM
will this work on current hardware that uses SD cards?
Jordan @ Mar 10th 2006 8:21AM
Is this backwards compatible with standard SD? In other words, can you put this in a non-SDHC compliant camera? What about using SD in a SDHC camera?
If it's not, they may well have used a totally different format.
*confused*
The ultimate icollection @ Mar 10th 2006 8:46AM
Wow, I want one!...if it will work with my i730.
Wil Sylvince @ Mar 10th 2006 9:57AM
Why is it they can make scandisk cards 1 gig, 2 gigs or even 4 gigs on a card as thick as a quarter and slightly bigger that a quarter. But the Palm LifeDrive is so cumbersome, mainly because of the 4 gig hard drive thats inside of it. Why cant they use two scandisk cards or one 4 gig one? Wont it cut down on the size, the access time to retrieve data etc? Or maybe I dont fully understand how scandisk cards work? Please explain.
WIL
Wil Sylvince @ Mar 10th 2006 9:57AM
Why is it they can make scandisk cards 1 gig, 2 gigs or even 4 gigs on a card as thick as a quarter and slightly bigger that a quarter. But the Palm LifeDrive is so cumbersome, mainly because of the 4 gig hard drive thats inside of it. Why cant they use two scandisk cards or one 4 gig one? Wont it cut down on the size, the access time to retrieve data etc? Or maybe I dont fully understand how scandisk cards work? Please explain.
WIL
Wil Sylvince @ Mar 10th 2006 9:57AM
Why is it they can make scandisk cards 1 gig, 2 gigs or even 4 gigs on a card as thick as a quarter and slightly bigger that a quarter. But the Palm LifeDrive is so cumbersome, mainly because of the 4 gig hard drive thats inside of it. Why cant they use two scandisk cards or one 4 gig one? Wont it cut down on the size, the access time to retrieve data etc? Or maybe I dont fully understand how scandisk cards work? Please explain.
WIL
bz @ Mar 10th 2006 10:26AM
I think the SD cards are physically too small and prefer CF. All of my DSLRs take CF cards.
taihen @ Mar 10th 2006 11:32AM
this card is rather underwhelming. SD cards have had 4GB capacity for a while now. The transfer speed on this is 2MBps which is ~13.3x while new 4GB SD cards are 150x (22MBps) and is shipping now for ~150$ ...
Pat @ Mar 10th 2006 11:35AM
I think the physical size is about right. Any smaller, you're gonna lose 'em. SDHC cards will only work in SDHC-compliant devices. I think the new devices will accept the old SD cards, but not the other way around. Displaying an embarassing lack of foresight, the original SD spec tops out at 1GB. I haven't heard what SDHC's max is yet. Let's hope they built in some headroom...
Michael Pate @ Mar 10th 2006 12:26PM
As noted above, I would love one of these for my Treo 650... as long as it is compatible.
Matt @ Mar 10th 2006 12:32PM
Well this is good news for Digital photographers.
They are the only people who really need or want SD this big, thats why they continue to pump money into somthing bigger than a "fingernail."
John Stracke @ Mar 10th 2006 1:48PM
Wil, the reason the LifeDrive doesn't use flash is price: a 4G hard drive is cheaper than 4G of flash. That's why the 60G iPod with video doesn't cost 15 times as much as a 4G iPod Nano.
Anthony @ Mar 10th 2006 2:56PM
SD is a great size, to want anything smaller is to want something that will be harder to find if you drop it. Its my favorite universal format. From pc to camera to pda, love the ability to swap between them.
Rob Horseman @ Mar 16th 2006 10:11AM
Hi, could anyone let me know if it would be possible to connect a hard drive to my XDA..PDA. using the sd card slot. Also is there such a cable available, With a male SD connecter on one end to a firewire or usb on the other.If not could i attach a hard drive to the pda via the main "Ipod type socket" that i use for docking and charging etc.Hope this makes sense? Cheers. Rob. UK
Lauren Glenn @ Mar 26th 2006 1:34AM
To quote Kevin Moore formely from the band, Dream Theater, when he was holding a super small micro cassette in Japan:
"It's too big. I need something smaller."
Luis de Sousa @ Apr 5th 2006 10:58AM
I wonder if I can use a card like this on a PDA HP6515 ?
I have to buy a card, with this capacity or with another, now it will depend on compatibility!
CJ @ May 14th 2006 8:57PM
I hope Panasonic will develop an MP3 player that will be compatible with the new FAT32 format or the new 4gb SD card. Currently, their MP3 playeres will not recognize anything in FAT32 - at most, they recognize 1 gb sd cards. I would love an MP3 player that would take a 4gb SD card - any suggestions?
madman @ Jul 4th 2006 9:07PM
until now, i still waiting for the mobile memory at least 10 GB, with high speed and cheap price... i don't really care about the format. sd, rsmmc, or sdhc.