microSD and microSDHC Cards
I got around to having a look at microSD cards over the last couple of days. Here's what I have found out.
I already had a 1Gb and 2Gb microSD cards. I purchased 4Gb and 8Gb Sandisk microSDHC cards. One came with a microSD to USB adapter.
- microSD cards go up to 2Gb
- microSDHC cards are above 2Gb and are designated a High Capacity
To work with HC cards a device must be compatible. Just becasuse a device has a micdoSD slot does not guarantee that it will work with an HC card.
I had two microSD to SD card adapters and 3 SD card readers. None of these adapters worked with the HC cards. ONly the new microSDHC USB adapter allowed my PCs to read/write he 4 and 8Gb cards. It worked with all cards.
If you wish to use a mocroDSHC card in your PC you need the compatible adapter. That is for sure.
I also called SanDisk support and asked what the difference was but they just said, 'Well, they are bigger.' Thanks guys.
I did a web search and not even on the Home - SD Card Association could I find a written specification.
Class explanation:
The SDHC card is compliant with the SD speed class rating specification created by the SD association which introduced a new speed classification according to the application:
Class 2 : >=2MB/s TV recording / DVD/ standard DC
Class 4 : >=4MB/s Mpeg2 (HDTV)/ DC with continuous shooting opti
Class 6 : >=6MB/s Reflex DC and professional DC - on continuous shooting
* Do take note that Class 2 SDHC Card is generally cheaper than Class 4 SDHC due to the speed difference.
The specification for microSD cards may be found here microSDHC (High-Capacity) - SD Association
The Blackberry never exceeds the Class 2 spec so putting in a higher (and more expensive) Class rating serves no purpose.
EDIT: Whilst Class 2 devices do everything that a BlackBerry can do, a recent post points out that using a Clacc 4 or even Class 6 card will allow it to do so faster. So if speed is your game, pay a little bit extra for a higher Class rating.
For reference here's the few helpful links I found. One is wikipedia so be careful what you read into their 'facts'.
eBay Guides - What is SDHC Card What's the difference with normal SD
Secure Digital card - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Explained - Editing#
About SDHC - SD Card Association
My two BlackBerrys (8310 and 8100) took all the cards but would only format the 8Gb card to 4Gb under OS 4.2.2. which is correct so I took the formatted card and plugged it into my C and copied the folder structure to a new folder and re-formatted the card in Windows using FAT32. I then copied the folder structure back. The phone reported a 7.6Gb card but would not allow more than a bit over 4Gb of data to be written when the phone was in Mass Media Mode.
I took the card out of the phone and copied a load more stuff (up to 6.5Gb) onto the card while plugged into the USB port. The copy completed and when placed back in the Blackberry I was able to see the files using Media, Menu, Explore. I was not able to view or play the movies (I know they worked on the BlackBerry) that were copied to the card above 4Gb even though I can see them.
A 4Gb card works just fine.
One last thing. Avoid buying Sandisk products that are sold as BULK PACKAGING because SanDisk does not honor its warranty with these products. If you buy one of these then your only warranty is with the entity you purchased it from.
SanDisk retail products always come with the usual SanDisk logo allover the packaging whilst the Bulk stuff has not Sandisk packaging at all.
Just for reference here's the currently supported card sizes for the various OSs. I stole the original table below from someone else's post. I forgot who but thanks anyway.
Edit: Link to BlackBerry's Media Card FAQ and their table of miscroSDHC sizes per OS
Supported microSD media card sizes
BlackBerry Device Software 4.2.0 Up to 2 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.2.1 Up to 4 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.2.2 Up to 4 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.3.0 Up to 8 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.5.0 Up to 8 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.5.0.81 and later Up to 16 GB
BlackBerry Device Software 4.6.0 and later Up to 32 GB
EDIT: Here's some pictures of various microSD and microSDHC cards and adapters.
The cards that come with adapters greatly help data transfer should you ever need to plug your card directly into your PC. The little red and back thing to the right of the card is a USB adapter. Very useful.
For those of you who are a little daunted when faced with fitting a Media Card in your phone, here's a CrackBerry link that will lead you through the process step by step Lecture 6: How to Install a Media Card into your BlackBerry | CrackBerry.com.