miniSD card
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 MiniSD Card and adapter |
|
| Capacity | 16 MB to 8 GB |
|---|---|
| Extended from | SD Card |
| Extended to | microSD Card |
The miniSD Card is a small form factor removable and portable memory device intended for use in cell phones/mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and many other gadgets.
In a March 13, 2003 press release, SanDisk Corporation announced the introduction of the miniSD and demonstrated it at CeBIT 2003.[1]
The miniSD card was adopted in 2003 by the SD Association as an ultra-small form factor extension to the SD card standard. While the new cards were designed especially for use in mobile phones, they are usually packaged with a miniSD adapter which enables compatibility with all devices equipped with a standard SD Memory Card slot.
The miniSD card is made by several different manufacturers and comes in different brand names. Its compatibility is universal.
The miniSD card is often confused with the microSD card which is another, smaller, SD derivation. The microSD card may be used in miniSD devices through use of an adapter, but miniSD cards cannot be used in microSD devices since they are larger than a microSD slot.
Contents |
[edit] Specifications
| SD Memory Card | miniSD Card | microSD Card | |
| Width | 24 mm | 20 mm | 11 mm |
| Length | 32 mm | 21.5 mm | 15 mm |
| Thickness | 2.1 mm | 1.4 mm | 1 mm |
| Card Volume | 1,596 mm3 | 589 mm3 | 165 mm3 |
| Weight | Approx. 2 g | Approx. 1 g | Approx. 0.5 g |
| Operating Voltage | 2.7 - 3.6 V | 2.7 - 3.6 V | 2.7 - 3.6 V |
| Write-protect Switch | YES | NO | NO |
| Terminal Guards | YES | NO | NO |
| Number of Pins | 9 pins | 11 pins | 8 pins |
[edit] Capacities
The miniSD card is currently produced in capacities ranging from 16 MB to 8GB (miniSD) and 4GB to 16GB (miniSDHC).
In a press release dated Sept 12, 2006, SanDisk announced the 4GB miniSDHC.[2] Like the SD and SDHC, the miniSDHC card has the same form factor as the older miniSD card but the HC card requires HC support built into the host device. Devices that support miniSDHC will work with miniSD and miniSDHC, but devices without specific support for miniSDHC will work only with the older miniSD card.
[edit] Comparisons
| Type | MMC | RS-MMC | MMC Plus | SecureMMC | SD | SDIO | miniSD | microSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD Socket | Yes | Mechanical adapter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Electro-mechanical adapter | Electro-mechanical adapter |
| Pins | 7 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 8 |
| Form factor | Thin | Thin/short | Thin | Thin | Thick (exceptions possible) | Thick | Narrow/short/thin | Narrow/short/extra thin |
| Width | 24 mm | 24 mm | 24 mm | 24 mm | 24 mm | 24 mm | 20 mm | 11 mm |
| Length | 32 mm | 18 mm | 32 mm | 32 mm | 32 mm | 32 mm+ | 21.5 mm | 15 mm |
| Thickness | 1.4 mm | 1.4 mm | 1.4 mm | 1.4 mm | 2.1 mm (exceptions possible) | 2.1 mm | 1.4 mm | 1 mm |
| SPI mode | Optional | Optional | Optional | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Optional |
| 1 bit mode | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 4 bit mode | No | No | Yes | ? | Optional | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| 8 bit mode | No | No | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No |
| interrupts | No | No | No | No | No | Optional | No | No |
| Xfer clock | 0–20 MHz | 0–20 MHz | 0–52 MHz | 0–20 MHz? | 0–25 MHz - 0–50 MHz | 0–25 MHz | 0–25 MHz? | 0–25 MHz? |
| Max Transfer | 20 Mbit/s | 20 Mbit/s | 416 Mbit/s | 20 Mbit/s? | 100 Mbit/s - 200 Mbit/s | 100 Mbit/s | 100 Mbit/s | 100 Mbit/s |
| Max SPI Transfer | 20 Mbit/s | 20 Mbit/s | 52 Mbit/s | 20 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s | 25 Mbit/s |
| DRM | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes |
| User encrypt | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Simplified Spec | Yes | Yes | No | Not yet? | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Membership cost | $2500/yr (not required) | $2000/yr (General), $4500/yr (Executive) | ||||||
| Specification cost | free since version 4.3 | ? | ? | Member | Member | Member | Member | |
| Host license | No | No | No | No | $1000/yr + membership cost | |||
| Memory card royalties | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| I/O card royalties | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes: $1000/yr + membership cost | N/A | N/A |
| Open source compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes? | Yes? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Nominal Operating Voltage | 3.3V | 1.8V/3.3V | 1.8V/3.3V[3] [4] | 1.8V/3.3V | 3.3V [5] | |||
| Type | MMC | RS-MMC | MMC Plus | SecureMMC | SD | SDIO | miniSD | microSD |
Table data compiled mostly from simplified versions of MMC and SDIO specifications and other data on SD card and MMC association web sites. Data for other card variations is interpolated.
Capacity limit in all SD/MMC formats appears to be 128 GB in LBA mode (28-bit sector address).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ SanDisk Introduces The World's Smallest Removable Flash Card For Mobile Phones-The miniSD Card SanDisk.com
- ^ SanDisk Introduces 4GB miniSDHC Flash Card for Mobile Phones SanDisk.com
- ^ JEDEC MMC 4.4 Standard Pg.7, http://www.jedec.org 2008
- ^ Transcend v4.0 Card Does not support 1.8V, http://www.transcendusa.com 2009
- ^ Memory Card Operating Voltages, http://www.allmemorycards.com 2009
[edit] External links
- miniSD Card - SD Card Association
- SanDisk Corporation
- Photo of a miniSD adapter, miniSD Card, Memory Stick Duo and Multimedia Card
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