Gizmodo: sd card

Eye-Fi Doubles Storage and Adds Video Support

Mark Wilson — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EST

Our beloved Eye-Fis (SD cards that add Wi-Fi to any digital camera) have finally gotten the bump from their 2GB standard. Now Eye-Fi cards hold 4GB of photos and upload videos to YouTube/Flickr.

4GB Explore Video ($100)
automatically geotags photos and videos; also offers hotspot access at more than 10,000+ Wi-Fi locations

4GB Share Video ($80)
sends photo/video to the Web and your home computer

Essentially, Eye-Fi had a limited edition 4GB card on the market that's now become a $100 mainstay, plus they've added a cheaper 4GB model without geotagging. The company has made their product line a bit confusing, but I'll still stand by how amazingly simple the units are to use.

Available March 3rd, if video isn't your thing, the original 2GB Eye-Fi cards are still around starting at $50. [Eye-Fi]

Easy Hack Circumvents the Wii's 2GB SD Card Limit

Mark Wilson — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:45:00 EDT

If you've loaded your Wii with homebrew, or even just wanted to take advantage of one of your huge SD cards in the system, you've butted heads with the Wii's 2GB SD card limit. The console won't recognize anything more than 2GB, even if you've got a 4GB+ card loaded. But if you format that card with SDFormatter and load it with 2GB of dummy files, the Wii will recognize a 2GB card...which can then be cleared of of its contents and used as a 4GB card. Make sense? Don't worry, the link has a very clear tutorial. [CAG via Lifehacker]

SanDisk Releases $20 slotMusic Player, Dozens of SD Card Albums

John Herrman — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:56:59 EDT

SanDisk's grand plan to revolutionize the music industry: selling individual albums preloaded onto SD cards, made by them, to be played on SD card players, made by them. The concept is definitely attractive in some ways. The tracks are 320Kbps, DRM-free MP3 files, the SD cards are reusable and the screenless slotMusic players costs next to nothing. Major label albums are priced at a competitive $15, and can be played without the need for transfer from a computer, though you can load other SD cards with up to 16GB of music and play them, too.

The problem with this set of advantages, though, is that they're shared with virtually every other physical format. You know, the ones that that have been careening towards extinction since high-capacity MP3 players made it big? That said, if it comes down to buying an album on a CD or a reusable SD card, the choice is clear. In either case the music is likely to be copied to a computer or iPod rather than lugged around on its own individual piece of plastic, but why not get a perfectly usable 1GB SD card out of it? If you're keeping your Discman spinning on account of scary sync software and the high price of overladen MP3 players, maybe SanDisk's minimalist $20 unit is right for you. Check below for the (respectable) artist release list. [SanDisk]

* ABBA
* Chris Brown
* Coldplay
* Connie Talbot
* Daughtry
* Don’t Quit Fitness Bundle
* Elvis Presley
* Five Finger Death Punch
* Jimi Hendrix
* Jimmy Buffet
* Katy Perry
* Keane
* Kelly Clarkson
* Kiss
* Leona Lewis
* Lynyrd Skynyrd
* Metro Station
* MIA
* Nelly
* New Kids On the Block
* Ne-Yo
* Nickelback
* Pussycat Dolls
* Rihanna
* Rise Against
* Robin Thicke
* Saving Abel
* Shwayze
* Solange
* Sugarland
* Tim McGraw
* Toby Keith
* Usher
* Weezer
* Young Jeezy

Sandisk Replaces CDs With SlotMusic MicroSDs With Big-Name MP3 Albums Aboard

Kit Eaton — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:56:00 EDT

Sandisk's slotMusic cards are not much more than tweaked 1GB microSD cards with a logo and a special USB-compatible sled: but the fact that they'll carry albums from big names like BMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group makes them interesting. They'll also be DRM free too, which is a pleasant surprise. It's an attempt to change the way some people buy MP3s—you'll get a card you can slot into your cellphone or PC with high-quality MP3s (up to 320kbps), artwork, videos and such, which you can also reuse as a 1GB memory card later, and that's kinda handy.

It's impossible to say how these'll work in the market where instant and convenient downloads are a click away, since you'll have to either buy one in a physical store, or purchase them online and wait for them to come in the mail.

But you can guess that downloading market is why the music biz is trying to grab back control of at least some of their music sales. There's no official data on pricing, but word is it'll compare to existing CD albums, and a list of titles will hit in time for the holiday season. [SlotMusic]

Lightning Review: Olinari Dog Tags Hold, Secure Your Flash Memory

Jason Chen — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EDT

The Gadget: Olinari USB Dog Tags, which hold various USB drives inside the magnetic-clasp locking necklace charm. These are the follow up of the undoubtedly overpriced original version, which somehow managed to both look better, feel better and have a lower price.

The Price: $175

The Verdict: This is super useful if you're looking to carry a backup SD card with you to parties, hikes and anywhere where memory sticks could possibly fall out of your pocket from being jostled too much. The magnetic clasp is solid and won't flip open unless directly yanked on, and the new options of chain (leather choker, especially) are more comfortable than the original. It's perfect for an SD card or something around that size, but larger ones (CompactFlash for example) won't be able to fit.

At a price of $175 it's still slightly extravagant (about half as extravagant as the original version), but definitely makes a nice gift for that amateur photographer who's always running out of storage or losing his cards. [Olinari]

Eye-Fi Wireless SD Card Helps Catch Dumb Thieves

Jason Chen — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:40:00 EDT

That Eye-Fi Wi-Fi SD memory card isn't just useful for uploading pictures automatically whenever there's a hotspot in range, it's also useful for catching thieves. Not all thieves, however, just ones stupid enough to take pictures of themselves using a camera they stole that has an Eye-Fi inserted. This brilliant guy made off with $1000+ worth of Alison's camera equipment while she was on vacation, only to be caught when Alison saw her pictures—plus some that didn't belong to her—being uploaded onto her machine. Thankfully none of those pictures were of the thief "using" her toothbrush, if you know what we mean. And we think you do.

Eye-Fi Wi-Fi SD Card Autopsied

matt buchanan — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:40:56 EDT

We're not entirely sure why you'd wanna go about pulling apart the Eye-Fi wireless SD card—it's pretty obvious you're gonna find a flash chip, and hey, a Wi-Fi chip, too. But someone did anyway! The NAND flash is from Sammy, while Atheros supplied the Wi-Fi module, its 802.11b/g AR6001GL radio on a chip. For more teeny-tiny teardown porn, hit up Ikontools. [Ikontools, Thanks Mitchel]

SanDisk's 8GB Ultra II SDHC Doesn't Even Need a Reader

Jason Chen — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:05:45 EST

Making flash memory USB compatible without a card reader seems to be the hot thing to do nowdays, and SanDisk is following up on the craze with their Ultra II SD card with USB interface. It's 8GB, has a $99 MSRP, and can fold in half to reveal the USB connector that you can easily shove into the USB slot on your machine. Because if we have to carry around one more thing in our bags when making the mad dash to grab a seat at Macworld, we may just collapse halfway in and have to blog prone on our stomachs in the aisle. [BusinessWire via jkontherun]

U27 Conical MP3 Player and Speakers Look Like a Warhead

AddyDugdale — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:52:29 EST

The U27, with its neat military name, looks like something scary that Jack Bauer would defuse heroically while US citizens sweated in front of their tellies*. Luckily for us, it is not, or mass destruction of the world's population would be just an "Add To Basket" click away. The U27 is actually an MP3 player with built-in speakers that costs just $89.99. Considering that they throw in a Toshiba 1GB SD card at no extra cost, it's a bit of a bargain, really. [Deal Extreme via Shiny Shiny]

*Actually, I think I remember Roger Moore, dressed up in a clown's outfit at a circus in East Germany, fiddling around with one of these in ~~The World's Worst Bond Movie Ever~~ Octopissy.

Eye-Fi Wi-Fi SD Card Gets FCC Approval

Jason Chen — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:54:13 EDT

The Eye-Fi 2GB SD Card that can wirelessly transfer pics to your computer just got FCC approval. There's an 802.11b/g Wi-Fi chip on board, allowing you to upload shots that you've taken without plugging in your camera. The feature's been around in other cameras before—Kodak's Easyshares come to mind. We're not sure about the features, but if this can somehow stream pics as you take it and delete them afterwards, you can have a relatively unlimited storage card (as long as the battery in both your camera and the laptop you're streaming pics to hold out). [TGDaily via Slsahgear]

FOMA's Wireless Safety Helmet is Risky Peeping Tom's Best Friend

AddyDugdale — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 03:42:32 EDT

Japanese company FOMA have shown off a prototype of a couple of wireless safety helmets that they have been working on. You can take your pick from either Type A, which has a built-in camera and GPS module, or Type B, handy for avoiding railroad disasters...

Type A is an AV unit aimed at emergency workers in disaster zones to help keep them in constant contact with base. While the camera transmits a stream of pictures back to the organizers every 30 seconds—there is even a slot for an SD card so you can also store images without the need to beam them back to central command—the GPS system means they will be able to pinpoint your exact whereabouts, should you run into trouble, kidnapped by a Village People tribute band, for example.

And then there's Type B, with its LED display, electrical radio unit and vibrate mode (Jason Chen will LOVE it), which is supposed to warn railroad workers when they're about to be mown down by a train.

Both models, while weighing in at more than the average helmet (around 300 grams) are, at 800-900 grams, still fairly lightweight, but FOMA is expecting to cut that by around half. [Impress through Babelfish via Slashphone]

Dealzmodo: 1GB SD Card For Free

Charlie White — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:07:28 EST

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Now they're giving away 1GB SD memory cards. Well, not exactly—you have to go through a bit of rebate bullshit, but if you're willing to jump through a few hoops, get a Kingston SD 1GB memory card for $50 from Buy.com, use Google Checkout to save $20 off the purchase, and then there's a $30 mail-in rebate that's good for purchases made between now and December 23. Grand total: $0.00.

They give you 30 days to mail in that rebate, and of course, they're hoping you'll forget to mail it in. You can't beat free, even if it involves a bit of rebate hoopage. In this case, it's probably worth the trouble. – Charlie White

Kingston 1GB Secure Digital Card (SD) - SD/1GBKR [Buy.com, via ilikecheapstuff]

Rollei dt6 Tribute: Small, Not Much Else

Gizloco — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 13:38:22 EDT

Achtung! Germany-based Rollei's about to release the dt6 Tribute, a consumer-grade 6.36-megapixel digital camera that's "compact and stylish." (You know a camera has nothing to offer when the best thing that it's got going for it is that it's "compact and stylish.") Other stats include a 4.8x optical zoom that complements its 8x digital zoom, a 2.5-inch LCD and the inclusion of a microphone to record audio that accompanies the MPEG-4 video that it can record. Rollei only includes 32MB of internal memory, not exactly surprising given their track record of releasing cameras with very little memory, but the standard SD card support is here to save the day.

The dt6 Tribute does offer video output, so you can bore your relatives with slideshows from vacations past until the end of time. Look for it this month for around $360 on the Old Continent. – Nicholas Deleon

Rollei dt6 Tribute [Let's Go Digital]

Rollei Home Page [Rollei]

Oasis On The 803T

Noah R — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 11:55:55 EDT

Let's see here... U2 gets an iPod, The Black Eyed Peas are owned by Best Buy, and all poor Oasis is left with is Toshiba's 803T handset. The 3G mobile music player, which gets released in Europe this month, will come pre-loaded with live and exclusive content from the band on a 512MB SD memory card. The card will include:

video for the new Oasis single 'Let There Be Love' as well as five exclusive live audio and video tracks recorded at the Oasis homecoming concert at the City of Manchester Stadium in July 2005.

Is there anything to stop someone from buying the phone, removing the card and passing it around to friends, family and BitTorrent?

Toshiba 803 Handset with Oasis SD [Wireless Watch Japan]

Panasonic SD "Pocket Copier"

Noah R — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 13:25:37 EDT

Here's a nifty trinket from Panasonic: An SD card copier. To make it extra nice, there is a wee switch that lets you copy either the entire contents of the card, or just the photos. This "pocket copier" is coming out in October in Japan. Any readers out there want to translate the rest for me? Google is doing a fine job of translating wisecracks such as: "Without the personal computer, the pictures and the like it can copy."

Product Page [Panasonic]

Vallio VA-850 - It's a Flash Player

johnb — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 12:41:19 EDT

Another day, another new flash MP3 player. Vallio has released the VA-850, a flash player that uses SD memory.

Same of the standard features apply: iPod-esque design, rechargeable battery, USB 2.0, FM Tuner, etc. The biggest problem plaguing Vallio is that they are not quite ready for an American release. Vallio s current company slogan is What an awesome MP3 is VALLIO! and they seem to like it so much, it is even plastered on the 850. Too much soju, Marketing Team? Maybe. Bad translation on a rushed foreign product? More than likely.

VA-850 [DAPreview]

Sandisk SD Wifi Card Finally Works

johnb — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 08:34:22 EDT

The buzz around the PDA community is that the Sandisk SD wifi adapter is really hit and miss and generally resulted in failure when working with iPAQs. Possibly because of this, Sandisk has decided to discontinue the adapter with another release rumored for later this year. Some guys over at the Daves iPAQ forums have confirmed that the older discontinued adapter does work and are also offering assistance and tips getting the WiFi setup. Good news for me! That kid in Starbucks watching live furry porn on the iPAQ? Yeah, it'll be me.

Hw6500 and Sandisk Wifi is a GO! [DavesiPaq]