How to choose the right memory card

While most consumers find electronic devices such as digital cameras, new generation mobile phones and hand-held games consoles, quite straightforward to get to grips with, it is often the essential add-ons and accessories that have the potential to confuse and frustrate. Memory cards and memory sticks present a particularly salient example of new technology’s capacity to confuse when it comes to purchasing supplementary hardware.

With a little background knowledge however, buying the right memory cards and memory sticks can become as straightforward as buying a replacement set of batteries.Memory cards are essentially miniature storage devices that use microchip technology to hold large amounts of electronic data such as digital photographs, electronic games software and movies. Most electronic hardware devices such as new generation mobile phones and digital cameras will need to use a memory card in order to store and retrieve data.

Memory sticks meanwhile function like memory cards and are, in fact, classed as particular variants on the memory card theme. The term ‘memory card’ can therefore apply equally to a memory stick (which is long and resembles a little stick) as it does to the more conventional thin, square-shaped memory card format.Memory cards are available in sub-formats, the most common of which are: SD cards, SDHC cards and micro SD cards. SD cards – or ‘secure digital’ cards are usually required by larger electronic devices such as digital cameras

Although memory cards can all generally hold large amounts of data, SDHC cards – or secure digital high capacity cards – have been specifically designed to meet the needs of users who wish to store and access exceptionally large quantities of data.Micro SD cards are simply smaller versions of SD cards designed for smaller electronic items such as new generation mobile phones.

When purchasing any of these memory card types or memory sticks the buyer has the further option of choosing one with a higher or lower data capacity. Data capacity is measured in megabytes (MB). A 256 MB card, for example, can store up to 200 compressed photographic images. Some regular users of memory cards however, prefer to work with lots of smaller capacity cards rather than one larger one so as to minimise the fallout should a memory card become lost or somehow corrupted.The main criterion determining which type of memory card to purchase is the latter’s compatibility with the particular electronic device in question. Some devices may be capable of taking more than one type of memory card; others may be restricted to a particular format.

The purchaser of a new piece of electronic equipment need not, however, be concerned over whether there is any danger of the particular memory card format required becoming obsolete in the near future. Most industry experts agree that competitive formats will continue to exist side by side for the life of most electronic gadgets.For assistance in determining which types of memory card are compatible with your electronic devices, general professional advice on memory cards, and competitive memory card prices, we at Memory Card Zoo are here to help.