High on the list of gadget annoyances that make me want to scab my eyes out with a spork—just below cables and batteries—is the unfettered proliferation of memory cards. Even though they all fundamentally do the same thing—store data for handheld devices—they come in a million different sizes and shapes from almost as many companies, giving birth to retarded but necessary accessories. Anyone looking for proof of this can stop at the 80-in-1 card reader. Unfortunately, many of these dumb pieces of silicon and plastic aren't going extinct. As a consolation prize, here's an illustrated guide to all the ones you actually need to know.

CompactFlash is like the Big Mac of memory cards: It may be bulky, but no McRib is going to take its place any time soon. It long ago moved out of the consumer-oriented gadgets now primarily using SD card, but it's the go-to for pro digital SLR cameras because it's durable as hell, it can hold more data (up to 100GB) and transfer it a lot faster (up 66MB/s with the revision 3.0, though higher capacity cards don't yet reach that rate). All of that matters if you're shooting massive RAW photos at several frames a second in less-than-pampered conditions.

CompactFlash UDMA: The latest version of the CompactFlash spec, 4.0 adds support for the Ultra DMA 133 interface, pumping the maximum data transfer rate to 133MB/s. Looks the same as a regular CF card, but will have UDMA stamped on it. Enables longer burst shooting in the latest DSLRs, besides just sounding impressive. Of course, this parallel ATA interface is on the fast track to be slow balls, with a serial ATA based spec in the works that'll deliver 3-gigabit transfer rates, that is, nearly 400MB/s.

Secure Digital, better known as SD, is the memory card of the people. This sliver of plastic is the reigning king of storage in everyday gadgets, from digital cameras to the Nintendo Wii to non-iPod MP3 players to hell, my (admittedly fancy) alarm clock. Most new (non-Mac) notebooks come with an SD card slot, even if they don't support other cards. Its primary advantage over CompactFlash is smaller size—maybe the perfect memory card size, even. On the other hand, the standard version format is significantly slower, stores less data (the spec allows for up to 2GB, larger sizes exist) and is way more fragile. But damn if they aren't cheap.

Secure Digital High Capacity pretty much spells it out in the name—an extension of the SD format that allows for more storage (up to 32GB) and much faster write speeds (SanDisk's latest hit 30MB/s). Classes—2, 4 or 6—let you know what the card's minimum transfer speed is. The major catch is that while they look the same as a regular SD card, SDHCs won't work in older card readers. Most electronics are quietly swapping in readers that can support SDHC, and of course regular SD cards work wherever they physically fit.

MiniSD is, you guessed it, a smaller variant of the SD card format that's about a third of the size. And yes, there's an HC variant to bring its capacity past 2GB, just like SD to SDHC. Originally for the mobile phone space, it's basically been squeezed out by the even retardedly smaller microSD. Truth is, miniSD is all but extinct now. Fortunately it usually comes with an SD slot adapter, so old ones can just be used as standard SD cards.

MicroSD and its microSDHC step-up are ridiculously tiny, and though they're used in MP3 players and other gadgets, they now completely dominate removable storage on cellphones. They've got basically the same specs as the other SD and SDHC card flavors in theory, but they're not quite as speedy or obviously up to the same crazy capacities. Officially they are way too easy to lose.

MultiMediaCard is the format from which SD and its offspring descended. (Its looks should give it away.) There are a few variants, but since it's been displaced by its SD spawn, you probably won't run into them. They're even dissolving the MMC Association, if that tells you anything. The important thing to know is that if you come across one, it'll work in many—but not all—SD card readers.

Memory Stick and its 300 variations: Okay, it gets kind of ugly with Sony's essentially proprietary Memory Stick format. Once upon a time, Samsung, Sharp and possibly others had Memory Stick readers in certain portable electronics, but the days of non-Sony Memory Stick sightings are long gone. If I could punch the embodiment of Sony in the nuts for any single reason, it would likely be due to the continued existence of all 65,000 Memory Stick formats. Here's the rundown:

The original Memory Stick, which is now obsolete, ran in sizes from 4MB to 128MB. There was also the Memory Stick Select, which was basically like two Memory Sticks crammed together with a switch to flip between the two.

Memory Stick PRO was the first legit sequel to the Memory Stick. It's faster, and theoretically holds up to 32GB, but has only been released in versions up to 4GB. PROs with more than 1GB of storage use a High Speed mode for faster transfers.

Memory Stick Duo was Sony's stab at getting small, shrinking its hot-dog proportioned Memory Stick into an SD-card sized package. Otherwise, it's just like a regular Memory Stick, stuck at 128MB and all. With an adapter it'll fit in regular Memory Stick readers too.

Memory Stick PRO Duo has the same SD-like form factor as the original Duo, but allows for much higher capacities and transfer speeds, about on par with SDHC cards. The highest capacity card is currently 16GB. Yes, there's still more Memory Stick where that came from.

Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo is the latest and largest mouthful of the Memory Sticks. Its big hurrah is that its 8-bit parallel interface gives you transfer speeds of up to 30MB/s, and the faster rates are majorly important for HD cameras. There is, unbelievably, another version, the PRO-HG Duo HX.

Memory Stick Micro aka M2 is the tiniest end of the line, comparable to a microSD card. Guess what it's used in? Sony Ericsson phones. Sadly, SanDisk participates in this farce of a format, along with the PRO-HG. The fattest available size is 16GB, which is notably pricier than its microSD cousin. Predictably, cards with heftier storage don't always play nice in older readers.

xD-Picture Cards are another BS format, created by second-tier camera makers Olympus and Fujifilm, that should just roll over and get smushed by the SD train. There, as always, a few different flavors—M, H, and M+—each one successively boosting capacity and/or speed but all fitting in the same small thin form. They're really only used in (you guessed it) Olympus and Fujifilm cameras—Kodak dabbled before hopping on the SD Express—and pathetically they only hold up to 2GB. Die already. Update: Okay, it does have one legit use—as a commenter has pointed out, it's descended from the extinct SmartMedia format, and provides easy access to a standard NAND flash chip, making it ideal for ROM-dumping for hackers.

SxS is another Sony-developed format, but it's geared toward pros and HD camcorders, with transfer speeds of 800Mb/s. It's available in sizes up to 32GB, but obscenely expensive—Sony sells the 16GB card, with one hour of recording time, for $1100. Conveniently, it uses the ExpressCard form factor, so it'll pop right in some notebooks.

P2 is another fancy ass, pricey pro-level card for camcorders, but it was developed by SD-pimpin' Panasonic. Not surprisingly, it was originally a bundle of SD cards in striped RAID array, but now it just uses core memory components in a RAID setup, contained in a ruggedized shell that fits into PC Card slots. It too goes up to 32GB, but the transfer rate is slower than SxS, at around 640Mbps. On the other hand, it's cheaper too, at $900 for a 16GB card.

And that, friends, should just about do you, at least for a little while, or until Sony releases its next Memory Stick flavor of the week.

Something you still wanna know? Send any questions about memory, Johnny Mnemonic or blackjack to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

P.S. What other kinds of tech would you like to see an illustrated guide for?

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]

Nope, Reggie says it's even better than a hard drive. Could it be online storage? (That's the only thing we can think of besides a hard drive, since online storage is actually super cheap nowadays.) Whatever it is, if it involves hardware, expect it to be one of the few Wii peripherals Nintendo makes, since Miyamoto says they have enough already. Amen to that. [Go Nintendo via CVG via Kotaku]

New SanDisk SD Cards Retain Data For As Long As 100 Years;
Once Recorded, Files Can’t Be Altered Or Deleted

MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, July 15, 2008 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today introduced the SanDisk® SD™ WORM card, a Write Once Read Many (WORM) digital memory card intended for professional uses such as police investigations, court testimony, electronic voting and other applications where data files must be protected from alteration or deletion.

Analog recording media such as film and audio tape are rapidly becoming obsolete, driving demand for a solution suitable for today’s digital devices. But conventional rewritable memory cards do not meet legal requirements to prevent data tampering.

Digital data written to SanDisk SD WORM cards is effectively locked as soon as it is recorded; there is no physical way to alter or delete individual recorded files. Yet viewing the data is simple, because the cards are readable in any standard SD slot attached to a computer or other SD-compatible device.

SanDisk SD WORM cards also offer 100-year archive life1, when kept under appropriate storage conditions.

Applications for the SanDisk SD WORM card include:

* Police photography and witness/suspect interviews, where courts require proof that photos and audio recordings are genuine.
* Court proceedings, such as trials and depositions.
* Electronic voting, where recorded votes must be tamper-proof.
* Cash registers which record transactions for tax collection purposes.
* Event recorders, such as security cameras and “black box” flight-data recorders.
* Medical devices which retain individual patient treatment data.
* Personal digital assistants (PDAs) and similar devices used by physicians and other health-care professionals to track patient interactions.

“As digital media volume has grown and surpassed traditional analog media such as film and audio cassettes in the consumer market, law enforcement agencies and other professionals are facing rising costs and lack of supply,” said Christopher Moore, director of product marketing for OEM memory cards at SanDisk. “SanDisk’s new SD WORM cards offer professionals a one-stop solution for capturing and archiving critical data, along with many other benefits of moving from analog to digital.”

For example, the benefits for photography in these applications include eliminating the expense and delay of film processing, as well as subsequent scanning of negatives into digital files. With voice, in-field recorders become more reliable because they no longer have moving parts, and there are no more tapes that can tangle or break. SanDisk SD WORM cards also open up the possibility of unified storage, with all case data – text, photos, voice recording, etc. – stored on a single durable card that can be easily shared.

SanDisk is now partnering with manufacturers of cameras, digital voice recorders, medical equipment, electronic cash registers and other digital devices to add the firmware required for recording to SanDisk SD WORM cards. SanDisk is also working with the SD Card Association for approval of this new specification as an industry standard.

In addition, third-party resellers of SanDisk SD WORM cards can develop security enhancements for the cards, such as password protection and encryption. One enhancement now under development for the cards is the addition of TrustedFlash™ security technology developed by SanDisk that securely stores sensitive digital data and applications on digital media.

Pricing and Availability

SanDisk SD WORM cards are available now worldwide in 128-megabyte2 capacity and are expected to be available in higher capacities later in the year. Pricing is available on request.

[SanDisk]

When the Eye-Fi is inserted into the D60, the D60 will "automatically adjust its power timer settings to ensure that photos upload effortlessly for sharing and storing." So it looks like camera manufacturers are getting a say in how to optimize the uploading from the camera, which can only be good for end users. The Eye-Fi service will also be adding another photo sharing partner, Nikon's my Picturetown.

Having major camera manufacturers working to support this third party device, even at these more rudimentary levels, is a big break for the Eye-Fi. And if you're still confused about what the hell this thing does, don't miss our review here. It's sort of a "why not" device that can rid your life of USB cables—if you don't mind spending a little bit extra on an SD card.

The Price: $17

The Verdict: It works.

[Kingston]

The idea is the first finalist picked by the members of CrowdSpirit, a new gadget-by-committee project. The community has made some changes to the original idea, such as leaving out an expensive touchscreen, but overall they are very enthusiastic about its potential. All that's left now for this concept is the software, hardware, and design experts, as well as investors, to turn it into something more than words and drawings on a page.[Digital Wall Calendar on CrowdSpirit]

That said, the DMP-BD30 is nothing but "standard." To meet the BD Profile 1.1 spec, it needed internal storage. Panasonic answered that in the the way it knows best, by adding an SD card slot. (This is essentially their way of saying, "Get your own damn 256MB of flash memory," but since I've got more than my share of those, I will happily comply.) It can read JPEGs, MP3s and even video files in the popular high-def AVCHD format used Panasonic high-def camcorders as well as those of competing manufacturers.It's using the P4HD system and Uniphier chip developed for the original DMP-BD10 for 1080p/24p rendering as well as upconversion that can give HQV a run for its money, and it supports HDMI 1.3 for Deep Color (when available).

It's also significantly smaller than its pricier predecessor, as you can see from my picture (top) and the brochure illustration:Of course, the crowning glory of the 1.1 spec is picture-in-picture. Two tuners are required, though as in the case of this player, only one has to be HD. The second tuner is standard-def, but capable of simultaneous reading of other parts of the disc. Those discs aren't yet on the market, but when they hit, this player will be the only thing that can play them. (Samsung's Duo will get that capability following a firmware upgrade promised for January.) That means that, if you are hankering for a Blu-ray player that isn't obsolete the minute it hits the store shelf, your choices are limited, but clear.

Way to go, Panasonic. We applaud your ability to deliver on the Blu-ray promise. Sony, Pioneer, Philips, Sharp, Hitachi... what the heck happened?

PANASONIC INTRODUCES NEXT-GENERATION BLU-RAY DISC™ PLAYER

Only Blu-ray Player to Feature Final Standard Profile

LOS ANGELES CA (October 30, 2007) - Panasonic, a leader in High Definition technology, announced today the introduction of the DMP-BD30, the next generation High Definition 1080p Blu-ray Disc player. The DMP-BD30 is the first Blu-ray player to be introduced with Final Standard Profile, which adds a variety of new and enhanced features to the Blu-ray arena and one that separates the Panasonic Blu-ray player from the rest of the field. Also unique to the DMP-BD30 is the inclusion of an SD Memory Card slot for playback of High Definition content recorded in the AVCHD format. The SD slot also allows for viewing of digital still images recorded to an SD Memory Card.

Final Standard Profile is an advanced function added to the Blu-ray standard, which opens the door to new functions such as Picture-in-Picture (which displays a second image in a sub window) and Audio Mixing (allows the consumer to switch the sound between the main and sub windows).

"The DMP-BD30 will contribute greatly to Blu-ray's mounting lead over the competing format," said Gene Kelsey, Vice President, Panasonic Entertainment Group. "Panasonic's adoption of the Final Standard Profile adds a whole new dimension to the entertainment experience. For example, when the added value features inherent to the Final Standard Profile are incorporated into a Blu-ray movie, the viewer could have a myriad of entertainment options. One of the more intriguing aspects of the Final Standard Profile is the Picture-in-Picture feature that would allow the movie fan to access a variety of entertainment enhancements, such as having the director or an actor pop up to discuss a scene you are watching, or with an animated movie, you might see the actor performing their character's voice over, all while still watching the movie. Not only do these features give Panasonic a strong advantage in the high definition market, but they provide the movie community with numerous opportunities to embellish the viewing experience with additional creative elements."

With an SRP of $499.95, the DMP-BD30 also features a myriad of technology advances, including Deep Color Compatibility, and HDMI 1.3B, that bumps the step gradation from 8-bit 256 all the way up to 12-bit, 4,096 step gradation. To further enhance the viewing experience, the DMP-BD30 also provides 1080/24p playback, so the consumer can enjoy the same 24-fps (frames per second) reproduction as the original movie. This eliminates the need to utilize 3.2 pull down, a process to convert 24-fps images to 60-fps, resulting in a smoother picture.

The inclusion of a multi-function SD Card slot is another new addition to the Panasonic Blu-ray player. Coupled with the AVCHD codec, the DMP-BD30 allows for images recorded on a high capacity HD SD card to be outputted directly from the player's HDMI terminal in their original 1080p form. To further benefit the user, the DMP-BD30 provides an AVCHD Direct Navigator function that makes it easy to search for particular scenes. The player can also play back JPEG still images on an SD card, such as those recorded with a Panasonic Lumix digital camera. The DMP-BD30 converts the images to 1920x1080 resolution, ideal for viewing on a1080p HD Plasma and output them through the HDMI terminal.

Like its predecessor, the DMP-DB30 features the EZ-Sync™ HDAVI Control that allows the consumer to operate their Panasonic home theater system with one remote. With one touch of the EZ-Sync button, all the components turn on, the correct TV input is chosen, the TV's built-in speakers are muted and the home theater starts playback.

"Panasonic's commitment to excellence in entertainment and technology is evident in the establishment of Panasonic Hollywood Labs, where a great deal of research went into the development of Blu-ray," added Kelsey. "PHL has become one of the major centers for the authoring of Blu-ray titles and works closely with studio engineers in developing High Definition compression technologies."

The verdict: It works flawlessly.

The performance: Like we said, the Eye-Fi works flawlessly. Setup takes roughly five minutes (you program the card through your computer and bundled card reader). From there, you simply snap pics in the range of your router, and chances are, by the time you go back to your computer, the pictures will be viewable. If your router dies, you turn off your camera, or even if you take out the card and put it back in, the photos will upload when you get things sorted out again. It's actually a normal 2GB memory card underneath all of the other functionality and can work as such.

The catch: We figured it must drain more battery—but apparently in-camera SD power standards dictate that this extra consumed power needs to be minimal, to the level of not being noticeable to the end user. Unfortunately, the product doesn't support hotspots.

The price: $100

The verdict Part II: Sure, the Eye-Fi is basically a cradle replacement. But snapping photos and automatically uploading them in real time to share is truly fantastic, especially when the images can be better than one's camera phone. And the entire product experience is built with simplicity. If you can get over the price and are sick of cords, we strongly recommend the purchase. Available now. [eye-fi]

The HDTV was the best in its class with regards to overall picture display in SD, but comes at a price of $1475 - $1974 depending on the retailer. Surprisingly, the Vizio VP42 gained an 8/10 rating. The wide viewing angle, excellent colour and contrast production as well as the cheaper price point of $900, secured this set as a favorite. There is a question of which sets they've tested, though. I'm sure there are some high end TVs with Silicon Optix or Faroujda sets that could have done exceedingly well.

Finally, in joint second place was the Sony KDS-55A2020. Also scoring 8/10, the UI and picture quality were both note worthy. This RPTV was considered to be comparable to higher end 1080p plasmas and crystal flat panels. For the performance, the $1799 price tag was considered very reasonable.

Hit the link to get more information on SD playback, including how you can set your own HDTV to better display standard definition content. [Extreme Tech]

We played around with both the 1GB ($19) and 2GB ($37) Kingston card reader bundles and found them super convenient to use. The microSD card is normal and goes into our Helio Ocean or HTC 8525 just like any other card does. But when it comes time to transfer data to the card from our PC, all we have to do is plug it into the tiny USB adapter and shove that into a USB slot.

The adapters come with a small strap that can go onto your keychain—or even your cellphone, if you're looking for the ghetto cellphone strap look. The speeds are rated for 13MB/s reads and 3.5MB/s writes, which felt pretty decent to us.

So what's the story here? If you're looking for a microSD card, Kingston's bundle seems like the way to go. We've used both microSD to SD adapters and Kingston's microSD to USB adapter and we gotta say, the latter is much more convenient. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Kingston]

The thing ships by itself for $8.99 or with 1GB SD, 2GB SD, or a 1GB microSD card for $22.99, $34.99 and $23.99 respectively. So when you're not using this as memory for your camera, you can use this as a standard USB flash drive. Too bad being small and convenient is only good for these things, or else our Midget Butler business venture would have taken off like hotcakes. – Jason Chen

Kingston

–Travis Hudson

A DATA Pirates of the Caribbean Limited Edition Flash Drive and Memory Card [Fareastgizmos]

Kingston vending machines now available [ubergizmo]

At its heart, you are really getting a MicroSD card with SD and USB adapters. But since technically it's also a SD card reader (in addition to a USB storage device) it's more accurately a quadfecta. So that would be like a hot dog, Italian sausage, bratwurst and kielbasa all rolled into one.

No word on pricing yet, but it smells fantastic. – Mark Wilson

OCZ Enhances... [via everythingusb]

Since this is using SD cards—and four of them at that—there's no guarantee the performance will be anything above "meh". – Jason Chen

Product Page [GeekSTuff4u via Akihabara News via Crunchgear]

But that's not the most interesting feature. The most interesting feature is the iPod-like virtual clickwheel which allows you to "scroll" like you would an iPod. Simply swirl your thumb in a circle over the number keys and you get a similar effect. The phone's on sale now in Taiwan for 15,000 Taiwan dollars ($455).

– Jason Chen

OKWAP S868 Pocket PC Phone [IT Tech News via Mobile Mag]

Product Page [Outpost]

But here's gist of it:

12 New SD Models
5 of those are HDD
4 of those are DVD
3 of those are Mini-DV

The most interesting of the lot, the HDD camcorders, start at $599 and have sizes varying from 30-60GB, as well as optical zoom ranging from 40-10X. But the lineup is complicated, in that there isn't a reliable linear trend to storage or zoom capabilities. I wish Sony would consolidate their offerings, even if that means the pricepoints spread out a bit. Can you imagine going to a car dealer, buying a luxury edition model, and then being informed that the interior was crappier than its less expensive counterparts?

All of the HDD and DVD models support 5.1 surround, while every model supports up to 4GB memory sticks for stills. A Sony rep seemed confident that the newly announced 8GB sticks will be compatible, even though they are not certified for use at this time. – Mark Wilson

No more! Fujifilm and SD are now good buds. The new high-end F40fd (March 2007, $300) and entry-level A610 ($130) and A800 ($180) feature 2-in-1 slots that accept SD or xD cards (like anyone is still going to use an xD card now). And all of their new cameras from now on will feature the SD-friendly slots.

Thank you, thank you, Fujifilm. Now, can you have a little talk with Olympus about their xD addiction and with Sony about this MemoryStick silliness. – Sean Captain

Wii Transfer is software that will recompress video exclusively for Wii playback including Itunes video podcasts. While Quicktime Pro can get the job done for power users, those with only $9 in their pocket can convert their porn with the best of them. – Mark Wilson

Product Page

While the write speed isn't as impressive as Sandisk's Ultra II SDHC high performance cards—clocking in at 9 MB/s—you get twice the capacity and nearly double the read speed for $70 less, at an MSRP of $149.99. – Matt Buchanan

Product Page [via CrunchGear]

Product Page [Via Tech Digest]

Product Page [Via CG]

The Info SD is a big step forward for memory cards, but I think I know a better step. Here is my million dollar idea: find a way to add a mini-USB port onto the actual card. No need for card readers or any of that jazz, just plug the card directly into your computer. Anybody want to tackle this? I'll give you a cut of the profits. – Travis Hudson

A-DATA