SD cards and 3870

[IanJF]

I'm thinking of getting an SD card to use with a 3870, mainly for storing and playing MP3s from. I have the impression that not all SD cards are compatible with the 3870 (and other iPAQs). I'm looking at either 128Mb or 256Mb. Any suggestions as to suitable brands or an FAQ/website on the matter?

[Pops]

I ordered this one and it works great. BTW I got it for MP3s as well.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000068CS0/102-7118978-2761758

[wirelessguy]

Can you use the files directly off the SD card or do you have to transfer them to the RAM first?

[IanJF]

Thanks for the replies. As I'm in the UK I can't order from Amazon.com as they don't ship electronics to here. The same SanDisk card here costs about twice as much as from Amazon.com, but at least I know now that it works - there seems to some confusion about whether all SD cards work in the 3800 series.

[WxOKC]

Originally posted by IanJF
- there seems to some confusion about whether all SD cards work in the 3800 series.

Specific features of the SD
The SD Memory Card, a non-proprietary digital storage medium, was jointly developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), SanDisk and Toshiba. Its flexible architecture and high memory capacity accommodate a wide variety of digital data, from PowerPoint® presentations to music to video to JPEG images, for a broad range of applications.

• Cryptographic security for copyrighted data based on proven security concepts from DVD audio.
• Security level complies with both current and future Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) portable device requirement
• High transfer rate for fast copy/download at speeds of up to 10MB/s.
• Solid State, non-volatile format & lower power requirements
• New devices with SD Card slots will accept existing MultiMedia Cards
• User selectable mechanical write protect switch on the exterior card casing
• Currently available in these flavors: 16MB/32MB/64MB/128MB/256MB/512MB
• A 1GB SD card should be here by end of 2002, a 2GB SD card by 2003, and a 4GB SD card by 2004. (A full-length DVD quality movie in theory can fit onto a 4GB SD Card.)

All data transfer speeds in this FAQ are subject to change without notice, as the market of high speed digital memory cards begins to heat up, technology advances, and prices come down.

If you want to find more about SD Cards go here ---> http://www.sdcard.org/

[Pops]

You can access files directly from the card. A directory called "Storage Card" appears under "My Device" so it is easy to find too. I have played both movies and MP3s from it. without an issue.

[wirelessguy]

The user manual says the 3900 series supports up to 128mg SD card. Any issues with going to 256 or 512?

[Hanafi]

No issues. I'm using the 256 for my files & son's pics. Great, saves me from having the sleeve on & using a 5G HDD.

[IanJF]

I ended up buying a PQI SD card, 128Mb, from www.ebuyer.com, a UK based company. It was the cheapest I could find in the UK, £55 plus VAT with free shipping if you spend over £100. Seems to work okay, the iPAQ offered to format it which took about three seconds and MP3s play fine from it. So as long as it keeps on working okay I'm happy. Thanks for the advice

[tom_hanson]

A friend advised me on getting my SD Card from a company called Crucial Components, they unfortunately don't have a website as it is under construction, but I just phoned 01763 250694 and they gave me a price, I got a 512MB Lexar SD that works fine for £80.25, I couldn't complain as I had seen them elsewhere over the £100 mark! I don't know if they still do this but the service and everything was great with a 2 year warranty