Flash Card Memory

Portable memory sticks and cards are available in a variety of different formats. Different memory cards and sticks are required for different data storage applications.

Hundreds of millions of Flash Memory drives are bought across the globe each year, with many of these sticks and cards not being ideal for their intended usage.

Taking a few moments to assess your storage needs before making a purchase will allow you to make an informed choice and as a result you will end up with a better data storage solution that is fit for purpose.

Memory Card Types

There are popular format standards that are used by the bulk of device manufacturers. The most frequently used are SD cards, Micro and Mini SD cards, USB Flash, and CompactFlash drives.

The two most important determining factors when buying data storage, are the data storage capacity of the stick and the transfer speed for your data. Memory storage technology is fast moving resulting in continual growth of data storage capacity as well as transfer rate.

The bigger and faster the memory card, the more expensive it tends to be. Following on from the recent surge in the use of mobile devices for HD videos and gaming, mobile storage of enormous amounts of data has become more important than ever before.

Storage Capacities

At present, cards and sticks are readily available up to 256 Gigabyte and capacity is expected to pass 2TB by the start of 2020. Cards and sticks are increasingly reliable, giving owners more security and confidence than used to be accepted.

Many cards are hot ‘swappable’ which means that they can be removed from your devices and computers without needing to first eject them. They are also compatible with both Macs and PCs, so transferring data onto your Mac or PC is easy for using at a later date.

CompactFlash

Professional grade SLR cameras usually provide several card slots and use CompactFlash (CF) memory (usually the preference for commercial photography) and SDXC memory too.

For photographers, often they only have one opportunity to preserve a moment, so they have to be confident that the pictures they capture are going to be stored securely.

CF memory cards are some of the most reliable data cards as well as the most trusted. The majority of wedding and marriage photographers choose a few smaller capacity cards during such an important shoot rather than storing all the photos on just one card.

Doing this, gives them added security because if disaster struck and, if a data failure happens, they will only lose one segment of their saved work, as opposed to all of it.

In spite of the high level of reliability of modern storage devices, it is prudent to preserve your data by saving it this way as it can save a lot of tears later. Because of their compact size, flash cards are an incredibly handy way of moving enormous amounts of content for either portability or safety.

Small storage devices like these can be easily stored in a wallet, pocket or purse, or discreetly concealed to safeguard your important documents.

Portable memory has two types, USB driven and a variety of card drives which each require either the appropriate memory card slot or a multicard reader unit which connects to a PC or Mac via USB.

The devices you are looking to buy, or already own will dictate which types of memory storage you will need.

If you are only planning to store documents from your Mac or PC then a USB stick will be your ideal choice. With the expense of flash drives falling, this is the best time to upgrade with faster, larger capacity sticks and cards to safeguard your important files.