69 out of 70 people found this review helpful.
Interoperable Expansion for Many Devices
Date of Review: Nov 29, 2001
The Bottom Line: CompactFlash is the cheapest, fastest, and most versatile flash storage option for small electronic devices. Cf is an excellent memory choice for cameras, MP3 players, and PDAs.
It is a well known fact that no matter how much storage space you have on a computer you will manage to fill it and need more quickly. This adage is no less true for handheld devices than it is for desktop machines.
My first Palm, a PalmPilot Professional, came with 1MB of RAM. A top of the line model, the next model down only had 512KB. I had space galore.
But as I discovered games and ebooks and I started writing on my PPPro, I soon found myself running out of space. Every time I wanted to load a new 6KB application to try I had to delete something. Books were loaded one chapter at a time for there was no space for more. I had to watch my memory usage like a hawk and make hard judgement calls about which applications to keep and which to delete on an almost daily basis.
About 11 months after I bought my original device, I bought a TRG SuperPilot-IIXL, a replacement memory card with 8MB of RAM, 2MB of Flash ROM, and OS 3. It cost the same amount of money as my PPPro, but it was worth it. I could finally read an entire book at once. I even had a month or two of freedom from space stress before I somehow managed to fill the 8MB.
A year later I bought a FlashPlug, an extra 8MB of partitionable Flash memory that hooks into the serial port of devices with Palm III-style hotsync ports. Soon that too was filled, both with a backup of the more important files on my Palm and with extra eBooks so I'd never be caught without reading material.
I seriously considered buying a TRGPro, essentially a Palm III with a better speaker and a CompactFlash (CF) slot. By far the best Palm then in production, it was tempting but after dealing with the inverted backlight of a friend's TRGPro for a while and hearing whispers about a new TRG device that would blow everything else in existence away I decided to wait, to continue transferring files between my PPPro and my Palm III and my FlashPlug until the new device was released.
In the mean time I finally decided to buy a digital camera. I knew I wanted it to use CF because I was planning on buying the new TRG device which I knew would have a CF slot. That same day I happened to spot a cheap CF MP3 player that came with a USB CF reader. I picked that up too, knowing I needed a reader.
So I started off my CF-enabled life with an I-Jam MP3 player and a Kodak digital camera. They each came with an 8MB CF card and I had previously acquired a 48MB card (I really don't remember where). I purchased a 64MB card for additional MP3s and I was set for the time being. I could get ~95 pictures on each 8MB card, so I apportioned the two 8MB cards to the camera and used the 48MB and 64MB cards in the MP3 player.
Then in March, TRG, renamed HandEra, officially announced the HandEra 330. It was all I had hoped for if not more. I quickly set out to acquire one and bought more CF for it - I ended up buying a 128MB card, a 96MB card, and a 8MB card plus a CF PCMCIA reader for about $200. I used the extra 8MB card for a backup that never leaves my apartment and the 96 and 128 MB cards as repositories for eBooks and applications and for regular backups that travel with me. I have both of these cards filled (big shock) and am looking to buy more CF. But the good thing is that I can, easily. That's one of the great strengths of removable storage.
What is CompactFlash?
CompactFlash, usually called CF, is a persistent storage format used in electronics and computers to expand the memory of devices. Most commonly used in digital cameras, MP3 players, and PDAs, CF cards are about the size of a matchbook and offer a cheap and sturdy portable storage option.
Technical Details
There are two types of CompactFlash cards, Type I and Type II. Type I CF cards weight half of an ounce and are 1.7 x 1.4 x 0.13 inches (43 x 36 x 3.3 mm). Type II cards are 1.7 x 1.4 x 0.19 inches (43 x 36 x 5.5 mm), the exact thickness of a Type II PCMCIA card. Both types of CF cards have 50 pins and are compatible with PCMCIA-ATA spec, meaning they can be easily placed into PCMCIA adapters for full pass-thru functionality.
CF cards contain Flash memory, a non-volatile form of storage that retains its data even when not powered. Most CF memory cards are solid state, or contain no moving parts. However, IBM sells MicroDrives, small hard drives in the Type II CF form factor.
Every CF card supports both 3.3V and 5V systems. That means that any card will work in any device running at either voltage. This is important because interoperability is one of the real strengths of CF.
Interoperability
I've been talking a lot about how I apportion my CF cards, but I really don't have to do that. I find it convenient, but I also know that any of my cards will work in any of my devices.
When I filled my first 8MB card on my recent trip to Vegas I was appalled to realize I didn't have my other 8MB card with me. However, I didn't panic. I popped my 64MB MP3 card into my HandEra 330, used it to delete several MP3 files, and then tossed the card into the camera to get an extra almost 200 pictures.
At the same time I had MP3 files, Palm files, and camera files on the same card. The card still worked in all three devices. I was able to take advantage of my decision to use a common memory format in all of my devices and the interoperability of that format to continue taking photographs of my vacation.
Speed
This is only an issue on a PDA, but CompactFlash is significantly faster than either Secure Digital (SD) or MemoryStick (MS) on a Palm. I haven't experimented with anything other than CF on a Pocket PC device so I can't compare on that platform. I can back up an entire 8MB device to CF in 12 seconds and restore the same data in 38 seconds. It takes minutes in each direction to SD. I can read books residing on CF with no delay whatsoever - those books could be sitting in RAM for all I know, even large books. I can't do that from SD.
Cost
Less than a year ago CF consistently cost more than $1/MB (but was still the cheapest Flash memory format). Now you can find 128MB cards online for $30-40 if you don't care about brand names. I've seen 256MB cards for as little as $90 and the 1GB IBM MicroDrive is selling for $370 or even slightly less. I would expect the prices to keep dropping, especially as larger cards like the new SanDisk 1GB card (with no moving parts) are released.
The sweet spot seems to be in the 64-128MB range; smaller sizes seem to be quite a bit more expensive and larger cards haven't quite dropped to the same level yet.
My Cards
Right now I have the following CompactFlash cards, all type I:
SanDisk 8MB
Kodak 8MB (came with camera)
Fejya 8MB (came with MP3 player)
Kingston 48MB
Viking 64MB
Kingston 64MB
SanDisk 96MB
Kingston 128MB
They all work with all three of my devices that have CF slots. I've had some of the original cards for more than a year and they're still fine. I'm not really sure how old the 48MB card is because I honestly have no idea where or when I got it, but it's still in perfect working order.
Summing Up
CompactFlash is a great choice for camera, MP3, or PDA memory. It's small enough to easily carry, comes in large enough sizes to be useful, and is more affordable than other options. It's also faster than the alternatives on a Palm OS device and there are more devices using CF than other formats. Although Secure Digital (SD) is growing in popularity, It still has quite a ways to go before it's in the same league as CompactFlash.
