Flash Memory
Memory Stick, SD, MMC, Pro, DUO... what does it all mean?
Flash Memory cards have become an indispensable accessory in modern electronics. It's the upgrade of choice when you buy many forms of electronics, particularly media players, Smartphones and digital cameras. Unexpected consumer electronic items are also popping up with card readers built in. TVs, for instance, can have flash memory processing for image file formats. All it takes is a built-in card reader in the front of the TV and a menu system that allows you to navigate the contents of your compact storage card - you can have an instant slide show through your HDTV.
Breaking it down
Most people that are looking for a flash memory card are doing so because they have no choice in the matter. There is only one kind of flash for their device. If you bought a Sony you're stuck with Memory Stick. Most people don't take it into account and why should you, you don't judge a car by the kind of tires it uses, but what if it could only take one kind of tire? That's exactly the situation you find yourself in with flash memory cards.
The best flash memory options are the open source options. Open source simply means the technology can be used outside developers. SD memory is open and stays fresh with new and unique SDIO uses. By contrast, Sony Memory Stick is a closed proprietary standard. It tends to be overpriced compared to other flash memory competitors on a per- gig basis.
Earlier we looked at how all the different types of memory work inside your computer. Understanding how it works in the computer makes it easier to understand what the mobile variety does. Flash Memory is really not used as system memory in your electronics at all, it's used as storage. It's more closely related to a portable hard drive than system memory.
Modern Devices that use Flash Memory- Video Game Systems
- Cell Phones
- PDAs
- MP3 and Media Players
- Car Stereos
- TVs
- PCs
- Notebook Computers
Flash memory is really an EEPROM or Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. This makes it storage, which can be erased and rewritten or "flashed." Your computer system's CMOS is an example of an EEPROM at work. The basic design of the flash memory has been around since the late 80s, after Fujio Masuoka invented it while working for Toshiba in 1984. The basic idea of flash memory is that it's solid state storage. Solid state is electronics with no moving parts, and EEPROM (flash memory) is made from transistors. The transistors work with an oxide layer that behaves much like a tape or hard disc. You may recognize that cassette tapes also use a form of rust oxide as do hard disc drives. The EEPROM's storage is written by voltages through the network of transistors to the oxide layer, which can be erased by a slightly higher voltage, then reused with new data.
MiniCard
The MiniCard was one of the first on the portable flash card scene in 1995. Nowadays, it's hard to find and rare to see devices that actually use it still. It was a portable flash ROM that supported up to 64MB.
New technologies are being developed with magnetism that will change the basic oxide layer of compact flash storage. Prepare for innovations right around the corner from the company that designed Flash Memory in the first place, Toshiba.
MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) is seen as the next big thing in portable compact storage. It's going to be very high density and incredibly fast, almost as fast as system RAM for a PC today. So far a recent Toshiba development is proving to be the closest to perfecting the latest memory technique.