Common Information
- unless otherwise indicated, all images to scale
| Card family | Standards organizations | Varieties | Entry date | Picture | Main features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CompactFlash | SanDisk | I | 1994 | Thinner (3.3 mm), flash only, now up to 256 GB, although standard goes up to 128 PB since CF 5.0 | |
| II | Thicker (5.0 mm), older flash, but usually Microdrives, up to 128 PiB | ||||
| SmartMedia | Toshiba | 3.3/5 V | 1995 | Very slim (45.0×37.0×0.76 mm3), no wear leveling controller, up to 128 MB. This particular example shows the write protect sticker (the silver disc). | |
| MultiMediaCard | Siemens AG, SanDisk | MMC | 1997 | Slim and small (24×32×1.4 mm3), up to 16 GB | |
| RS-MMC/MMC Mobile | 2003/2005 | Compact (24×18×1.4 mm3), up to 16 GB | |||
| MMCplus | 2005 | Compact (24×32×1.4 mm3), swifter, optional DRM, up to 16 GB | |||
| MMCmicro | 2005 | Subcompact (14×12×1.1 mm3), optional DRM, 16 MB to 4 GB | |||
| Secure Digital | Panasonic, SanDisk, Toshiba, Kodak | SD | 1999 | Small (32×24×2.1 mm3), DRM, up to 4 GB. (2 GB and 4 GB cards use larger block sizes and may not be compatible with some host devices. See Article) | |
| miniSD | 2003 | Compact (21.5×20×1.4 mm3), DRM, up to 4 GB. (2 GB and 4 GB cards use larger block sizes and may not be compatible with some host devices. See Article) | |||
| microSD | 2005 | Subcompact (11×15×1 mm3), DRM, up to 4 GB. (2 GB and 4 GB cards use larger block sizes and may not be compatible with some host devices. See Article) | |||
| SDHC | 2006 | Same build as SD but greater capacity and transfer speed, 4 GB to 32 GB (not compatible with older host devices). | |||
| miniSDHC | 2008 | Same build as miniSD but greater capacity and transfer speed, 4 GB to 32 GB. 8 GB is largest in early-2011 (not compatible with older host devices). | |||
| microSDHC | 2007 | Same build as microSD but greater capacity and transfer speed, 4 GB to 32 GB. 32 GB is largest in mid-2011. (not compatible with older host devices) | |||
| SDXC | 2009 | Same build as SD, but greater capacity and transfer speed, 32 GB and higher. Standard goes up to 2 TB (not compatible with older host devices). | |||
| microSDXC | 2009 | Same build as microSD, but greater capacity and transfer speed, 32 GB and higher. Standard goes up to 2 TB (not compatible with older host devices). | |||
| Memory Stick | Sony/SanDisk | Standard | 1998 | Slim and narrow (50×21.5×2.8 mm3), optional DRM, up to 128 MB | |
| PRO | 2003 | Slim and narrow (50×21.5×2.8 mm3), swifter, optional DRM, up to 4 GB | |||
| Duo | 2003 | Compact (31×20×1.6 mm3), optional DRM, up to 128 MB | |||
| PRO Duo | 2002-06 | Compact (31×20×1.6 mm3), optional DRM, up to 32 GB | |||
| PRO-HG Duo | 2007-08 | Compact (31×20×1.6 mm3), swifter, optional DRM, up to 32 GB | |||
| Micro (M2) | 2006-02 | Subcompact (15×12.5×1.2 mm3), optional DRM, up to 16 GB | |||
| XQD | Sandisk, Sony, Nikon, CFA | Standard | 2011-12 | High-capacity, high-speed standard using PCIe as interface | |
| xD | Olympus, Fujifilm | Standard | 2002-07 | Slim and small (20×25×1.78 mm3), electrically identical to SmartMedia, no wear-leveling controller, up to 512 MB | |
| Type M | 2005 | Slim and small (20×25×1.78 mm3) but slower read/write, no wear-leveling controller, up to 2 GB | |||
| Type H | 2005 | Slim and small (20×25×1.78 mm3) and swifter, no wear-leveling controller, up to 2 GB | |||
| USB flash drive | Various | USB 1.1/2.0/3.0 | 2000/1 | Universally compatible across all computer platforms, but greater size suits them better to file transfer/storage instead of use in portable devices, up to 1 TB. |
Read more about this topic: Comparison Of Memory Cards
Famous quotes containing the words common and/or information:
“Words like “freedom,” “justice,” “democracy” are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous and, above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
“When action grows unprofitable, gather information; when information grows unprofitable, sleep.”
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b. 1929)