Why We Still Need Sdhc Cards

By Author: Steve Mc Karmik
Total Articles: 45
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SDHC stands for Secure Digital High Capacity, and along with its variations is the most common form of memory card available for a variety of electrical gadgets and appliances such as digital cameras, PDAs, phones and Mp3 players. Most computers are now also compatible with SDHC cards and for those that aren't there are still various forms of external flash card readers that enable you to browse their contents with your notebook or PC. Their versatility, durability and small size makes them particularly practical for small devices that are exposed to harsh conditions. However with the advance of technology, how to SDHC cards stand up, and are they still the number one form of storage?

SD cards became popular a few years back for use with such technology, though when they were initially released for use with digital cameras etc they tended to have lower capacities from 32-128kb. Eventually one and two gigabyte cards were unveiled, though these were rather costly and performance would vary with certain devices. This meant that only a limited number of photos could be stored on the camera, which became more of a serious ...
... problem as technology developed and cameras started to take pictures with more and more pixels - using a ten mega pixel camera you'd only be able to take a couple of photos before running out of space. Video modes created further problems. Likewise PDA's developed the ability to run 3D games and play videos, while people who used MP3 players began to expect to fit entire libraries of music on their portable device.

With the advent of SDHC cards however, storage went up to an extra 30 gigabytes, more than enough to take hundreds and hundreds of photos on just one memory card and hours worth of footage. With Micro SDHC cards even the size was improved, with these cards fitting on a small coin. As though that wasn't enough, the price also dropped significantly making even the larger cards very affordable. However just as SDHC cards stepped up their game, so too did the cameras and other gadgets. Today many phones and gadgets come with large amounts of memory built in - some almost as much as a low-end computer - so if your gadget offers that as standard, why would you need an SDHC?

Firstly, flash memory (the type used by SDHC cards) is non-volatile, meaning that it won't get ‘wiped' as it doesn't rely on an internal battery etc. This is still not the case with many PDAs, cameras and phones which require a small internal battery (in addition to the main battery pack) in order to keep data stored - meaning that if you leave your phone uncharged for a long time you will lose all of the internal memory.

Furthermore, SDHC cards offer far more compatibility and don't require installation. This means that you can share your photos or music with a friend without needing wires or plugs. Finally, SDHC cards are far more portable, meaning you don't have to carry a bulky camera or PDA everywhere you want to take your data. And anyway, why settle for 30 gigabytes in-built when you can double that with a memory card? In fact the cards are so small that you could very easily carry twenty of them and have almost endless capacity.

So yes, SDHC cards and their variations are still very much practical and necessary in today's technological market and will likely continue to be so. More interesting though is upcoming SDXC card which promises up to a terabyte of data, significantly stepping the game up again.

SD Cards were great but then we got higher capacity cards called SHDC, a new and improved version is planned but till then SDHC cards are the favorites.