2 GB of Faithful Storage

NOTE: Not all devices will support the SanDisk 2GB SD card (most if not all new/recent electronics that use SD media will), so be sure if you are looking to use this in an older piece of technology that it is compatible first

In order to make following this review easier, there is some background information at the end that may help to clarify some technical aspects.


WHY?

I purchased this SanDisk 2 GB Secure Digital Card (SDSDB2048A10) because I wanted a larger memory card for my digital camera and SanDisk is a well known and respected brand name. In addition I found a great deal on the card (with mail in rebate). The nice thing about SD cards is that they are becoming larger and cheaper every day, especially if you know where to look (I highly recommend www.deals2buy.com for finding the absolute best deals anywhere)



CAPACITY

This SD card is advertised by SanDisk to hold 2GB of memory. When looking at the advertised capacity of any type of hard drive or external/portable memory keep in mind that the actual value it can hold is going to be less than the advertised value (the reason is explained below under “Background Information”)

According to the manufacturer specifications, this card can hold over 1000 high quality images or approximately 4 hours of MPEG-4 video. I cannot personally attest to that since I normally only take a hundred or so pictures before transferring them to my computer and clearing the memory on my SD card.



PERFORMANCE

This SD card is reasonably fast, but my smaller capacity SanDisk SD cards (1GB and 512MB) transfer information quicker. Thus there is a trade off between size and speed. Keep in mind there are SD cards 2GB and larger that are made to be far faster than normal (such as the SanDisk Ultra II 2GB SDHC). So those are always an option if you don’t want to trade size for speed, and are willing to pay a bit extra. My personal experience has allowed me to transfer around twenty 10 megapixel (MP) pictures in JPEG format in one minute connecting my digital camera directly to my computer via a USB cable, and the transfer rate was slightly faster (around twenty five 10MP pictures) in one minute when I used an external card reader hooked up to my computer.

I have used this card with pretty much every setting on my digital camera, including several high-speed shooting modes and none of the pictures have come out distorted, thus it is safe to assume that this SD card can keep up with your camera in all aspects (that I have tried at least).
In addition to my digital camera I also use this SD card occasionally in an electronic tablet that I have (a pad that records everything I write on it by hand). I have had no problems with it in either my electronic tablet or my digital camera.


CONSTRUCTION

For those of you unfamiliar with Securer Digital media, it is very small, roughly the size of a standard stamp (32mm x 24mm). The exterior of the card is made of a very durable and tough plastic. I don’t know exactly what type of plastic is used or anything specific along those lines, but I am confident to say it is durable and tough based on my experiences with them. I have dropped my card numerous times, and often inadvertently put piles of things on top of it (not more than 10lbs or so), and it still works as well as the day I bought it. The SD card is actually rated to withstand a shock of 2,000G’s which a force equivalent to a ten-foot drop.

Internally there are no moving parts. This is a perk since it is far less prone to failure as compared to those that have moving parts (almost all types of large forms of media storage have moving parts– your computer’s hard drive, any external hard drives you may have etc.). Don’t underestimate how nice it is to have something which in all likelihood will not die on you.

All in all if you take decent care of your card, keep it in a protective case when not in your camera (my card came with a case), and use common sense this should last for years.



OVERALL

The SanDisk 2 GB Secure Digital Card (SDSDB2048A10) is a reliable media for any application you could choose. While slower than the same types of SD with smaller capacities, it is a fair trade of speed for capacity. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a reasonably priced SD card, although if you are looking to spend a little bit more, I would recommend the “Ultra II” version of SanDisk SD cards, which are much faster and just as reliable – if not more so.
Recommended

If by any chance you do find yourself in a situation where something has gone wrong, there is a 5-year limited warranty to back it up

MSRP: 69.99


BACKGROUND

Memory Size and Units of Measure :
Memory size denotes the available storage quantity.

The units of measure for memory are bytes (B), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB), and terabytes (TB) in order from smallest to largest. One megabyte is equivalent to one million bytes and one gigabyte is equal to one hundred megabytes (one billion bytes), with terabyte being equivalent to one hundred gigabytes (one trillion bytes).

Actual Size :
When you purchase a form of media, your computer will report the media’s maximum capacity as less than advertised; this is due to several reasons.

While a memory card may be advertised as a certain size, some of the listed capacity is going to be used for different functions than storing your media, such as formatting. Thus the memory used for these functions are not available to you for storage.

Additionally, most disk-drive manufacturing companies define megabytes differently than your operating system. For example, SanDisk defines one megabyte as equaling 1,000,000 bytes, while your operating system defines the same thing as 1,048,576 bytes. This mismatch in definitions leads to your computer reading the media as having a lower capacity than advertised.