- November 15, 2010 11:20 am
Late last week, we looked at the unfolding saga involving Windows Phone 7 and expanding the internal memory by swapping out removable SD cards. Though we noted that in Windows Phone 7′s case, these removable cards become anything but once configured for WP7 usage, so much so they can’t even be reformatted once removed from the device.
Samsung responded to a MobileTechWorld reader today, making some headway into the rather confusing and ridiculous nature of the SD card destruction by saying that Sandisk 8GB Class 2 will supposedly work. Unfortunately, the accuracy of these claims comes under scrutiny when Samsung’s own support team doesn’t even know how much storage is built into the phone. In the official response, the CSR mistakingly claims the Samsung Focus comes with 16GB of internal memory. It’s actually an 8GB + 8GB of internal and SD card storage. Not too reassuring, is it?
Of course, the whole idea of requiring “super special” SD cards to use as external storage (regardless of how tightly integrated with the OS it is) is nothing more than a money grab. On that note, if you’d like to know which “unofficial” SD cards will work pulling Windows Phone 7 duty, check out this growing list over at Mobility Digest.
- November 12, 2010 6:17 pm
We’ve already seen several instances of new Samsung Focus owners going against Microsoft’s best wishes and voiding their warranties by installing their own microSD cards. Now, voiding a warranty by replacing an SD card sounds ridiculous. (That’s because it is.) But voided warranties be damned, people want more storage. And that lust for more is starting to highlight some very big problems with Windows Phone 7, especially pertaining to external storage.
We already know Microsoft’s stance — that we wait for “Certified” SD cards to be released before cramming them into our WP7 devices. However, it’s not a matter of SD Classes as one would think. Engadget has already managed to fry an SD card of their own after attempting a swap in their Samsung Focus. Even more scary however, is the verbiage found in documentation on Samsung’s website:
A microSD card inserted into a Windows Phone 7 device and integrated into the device’s file system is intended to be a permanent modification to the device. Once a microSD card has been integrated into a Windows Phone 7 device’s file system, it will no longer be readable or writable on any other devices such as computers, cameras, printers, and so on. This includes an inability to format the microSD card for use in these devices. Improper use (including inserting or removing) of microSD cards on Windows Phone 7 devices may result in one or more of the following…
Clearly, Microsoft and/or Samsung dropped the ball big time. Under no circumstances should any OS or phone change an SD card so much that it is rendered useless (read: no more read/write ability) on all other gadgets/computers so much so that you can’t even reformat it.
Any other WP7/Samsung Focus owners care to chime in?
When 32GB of pictures just isn’t enough, Toshiba is there to save you. The SDXC cards will feature speeds of 35Mbps and 60 Mbps for write/read respectively. The first samples of said card are due to hit manufacturers’ secret labs this November with the general public getting graced sometime in spring of 2010. While I would much rather have several smaller cards (I cringe at the thought of losing 64 GB worth of data, especially pictures), some people just gotta have it all. Who are you?
Source: Crunch Gear
In many computer users’ lives, the time will come when your computer isn’t acting quite as happy and peppy as it once did. The computer golden years aren’t as fond as the human variant not only in the demands required of aging technology, but also in the fact that “old” comes about relatively quickly in the tech world. With Apple’s latest addition of an SD card reader on the MacBook Pro line, new possibilities are now available such as actually reading SD cards without having to use some stupid adapter and the ability to boot form an SD card. In order to begin, an 8GB or larger SD card is needed. After that, the standard process of formatting, installing, and other common install procedures are needed. The full rundown of how to get your four legged, anti-pc, SD card loving action on is lined out in great detail over at Macworld. By the way, if you were hoping to run OS X straight from an SD card on a Windows machine, you’re out of luck. It won’t work. Happy Formatting!
Source: Technabob
One of the great parts of the Blackberry experience is the ability to save files to the SD card for use in sending to another recipient or simply by using your Berry as a big radio wave emitting flash drive. However, while process of entering mass storage mode is extremely easy, occasionally things go awry. Have you ever connected, enabling mass storage mode, only to find that your SD card inside your berry doesn’t show up or get recognized? The solution and ensuing happiness are right inside.
