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THE TOP 5 SIGNS THAT YOU NEED FLASH MEMORY—NOW!
 
If you own a digital camera, handheld computer, or an MP3 player, you will eventually run out of storage space. Be prepared with an extra card.
 
1. You just bought a new digital camera. Most cameras come with a very small flash card, typically only 16MB or 32MB. But on a 4 megapixel camera, 16MB holds fewer than 10 pictures. If you want to take more than a couple of pictures at a time, you will definitely need a larger card or several small cards.
 
2. You're planning a trip. Taking a digital camera on your next vacation? Carrying a handheld on your next business trip? In some areas, it can be very difficult to buy additional flash cards, so make sure you stock up before you go. Also, if you plan to take a lot of pictures, you might want to take several cards. That way, if you lose one card, you won't lose all the pictures from your entire trip. By the way, flash cards aren't affected by X-rays, so taking them through airport security is no problem.
 
3. You're expecting a new addition to your family. Weddings, births, adoptions, new pets—you can be sure you'll be taking lots of pictures with your digital camera to commemorate the occasion. Bring along an extra flash card just in case. After all, you don't want to miss the perfect shot of Great Uncle Louie doing the chicken dance because you ran out of room on your flash card.
 
4. You've become addicted to your handheld. Are you one of those people who wish your PDA could be permanently attached to your hand so you would never have to put it down? A lot of people find that once they start using a handheld, they keep using it to do more and more. Removable flash cards are a great way to expand the storage capacity of your handheld and an easy way to transfer files from your handheld to your desktop or notebook.
 

5. You own an MP3 player. One thing all MP3 player owners have in common: they listen to lots of music. If you're going to put your whole collection on cards, you're definitely going to need more than one. Plus, cards are a great way to make your own compilation of songs with a similar style or theme to keep for yourself or give to a friend.


THE 5 MOST COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUYING FLASH CARDS.
Don't get stuck with a card that costs more than it should or doesn't do what you want it to.
1. Choosing the wrong type of card. CompactFlash™, MultiMediaCard™, Secure Digital™, Memory Stick™ cards— they're all pretty much the same, aren't they? Actually they're not the same— they're not even all compatible. Since one little-bitty card can look a lot like another, we recommend you double-check to make you're buying the right thing.
2. Buying a card that's too small. The size of the card you should buy is largely a matter of personal preference. Some people like to use lots of smaller cards; other people like one large card that can hold hundreds of pictures. Either way, make sure you have big enough cards to handle the number of pictures you plan to take. If you've owned a digital camera in the past and are upgrading to one of the newer models, you might be surprised at how few pictures you can fit on a card with your new camera. That's because as photo resolution improves, file sizes become larger, taking up more room on your card. In general, the newer and fancier your camera is, the bigger the cards you should buy. (For advice on how many pictures will fit on a card, see the next section.)
3. Paying for a high-speed rating that you don't need. Very few people actually benefit from high-speed cards (typically only professionals who use expensive, specialized products designed for this technology). In fact, most people won't notice a difference because the actual performance of a flash card has more to do with the electronic device than the flash card itself. Instead, you may be disappointed due to the limitations of your camera and will likely have wasted your money. In general, if you have a camera with a pixel rate of 5 megapixels or more, you can benefit from a high-speed card. If you have a camera below 5 megapixels, you should buy the standard 8X or 12X cards.
4. Picking the cheapest card. You wouldn't want to lose that prized photo from your digital camera or critical information stored on your handheld computer, would you? Buy your cards from a reputable dealer that stands behind its products with a lifetime warranty and accessible support. While flash cards are extremely durable and less likely to fail than most other digital products, it's best to buy from someone you trust, just in case.
5. Forgetting to format. To ensure that your flash card has the right file formatting for your electronic device, we recommend that you format any flash card in the device you are actually going to use it in prior to loading data on it. In addition, we suggest re-formatting on a regular basis. Without proper formatting, you run the risk of file corruption or worse yet, total loss of data. Your device’s owner manual should contain formatting or initialization instructions.
WHICH SIZE CARD IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
 
Here's the easy way to figure out how many pictures, songs, or files you can fit on a flash card.

How many pictures can I fit on a flash card?

It's only natural—we buy regular film based on the number of exposures it will hold, so we expect to purchase "digital film" the same way. Unfortunately, it's difficult to predict exactly how many photos you can fit on a flash card. That's because the file size for one photo depends on a number of different factors:
• Resolution: The higher the resolution, the bigger the file will be.
• Compression: Your camera might give you the option of choosing a compression format (such as JPEG or TIFF) or taking uncompressed photos. Uncompressed files are the largest, and compression formats vary in size.
• Colours: RGB photos (format for viewing on a monitor) are three times as big as black-and-white photos, and CMYK photos (format for printing) are four times as big as black-and-white.
• Your camera model and the shooting conditions: Each camera gives slightly different results, and you might even get a different number of photos per card depending on the subject you are shooting and the current light conditions.

Taking those factors into consideration, the following charts can give you some general guidelines for how many pictures average users can fit on various sizes of flash cards. By default, most digital cameras will use their highest possible resolution with best possible image quality. While this produces the best possible photos, it also means each image takes up more space on the flash memory card, decreasing the number of images you can save on your card.

 



How many MP3s can I fit on a flash card?
As with digital images, it's difficult to predict exactly how many MP3s you can fit on a flash card. File size for one MP3 depends primarily on two different factors:

• Compression: When you convert (also called ripping) your CDs to create MP3s, you can select the bit-rate level through the software you are using to convert the files. The greater the bit-rate, the larger the file size and the better the sound quality. A standard audio CD has a bit-rate over 1400kbps, which is why a CD can hold only a few songs. (At 1400kbps, a four minute song is 42MB.)
• Song Length: Simply put, the longer the song, the larger the file size. Taking those two factors into consideration, the following charts can give you some general guidelines for how many MP3s average users can fit on various sizes of flash cards. The actual number of MP3s per card can vary depending on the length of the songs, MP3 format, and player model.

 

What size card do I need for my handheld?
 

Most of today's handheld computers or PDAs have a slot for flash memory. Extra flash cards give you room for more programs or large files. For instance, if you install additional applications on your PDA, such as games, an Internet browser, e-mail, word processing, spreadsheet, or your company's proprietary software, you'll probably quickly run out of storage space and will need an extra card. Also, if you store important data on your handheld, a flash card gives you an easy way to back up your data. Plus, many of the newer handhelds also double as MP3 players, audio recorders, and/or digital cameras. If you want to use these features, you'll almost certainly need more storage space to hold your photos and music. The size of the card you should buy for your PDA will depend on your reason for buying the card. If you're looking for extra storage space for your programs and files, we recommend buying the largest card(s) you can. If you want to use your card to back up data, you might be better off with several small cards so you can back up to a different card every day.

How can we guarantee compatibility?
 

Crucial is a division of Micron, a company that manufactures flash. As a result, we have expert knowledge and close relationships with device manufacturers that help us ensure that all the products we sell are high-quality.

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