These are storage cards the size of a postage stamp (24x32x2.1mm. or 1"x1.25"x1/16".) They are readily available in capacities to 512 MB (million bytes). That's a lot of storage in a very small package! It is almost the capacity of a CD, which typically holds about 600MB. SD cards are supported on PDAs, digital cameras and digital camcorders.

Many new digital cameras support the SD card. A 256MB card will hold about 200 digital pictures at 3 mega pixel resolution. To transfer the pictures to your computer you can just pop the card out of the camera and pop it into a gizmo that plugs into your computer's USB port. Many new laptops have built-in slots for SD cards.

These cards have become the new standard way of moving information from one device to another. Floppy disks are out! A 256MB SD card holds more information than 175 floppy disks.

The SD card is a multimedia card with a tiny switch added to it. Given the choice, you might as well go for the SD version. Memory Sticks and Compact Flash are other storage cards that use "flash" technology for storage. These cards are bigger than the SD format and require different socket sizes to use. You can buy an adapter unit for about $50 Canadian that has sockets for several different flash devices and a cable that connects to a computer's USB port.

In October 2004, the 256MB SD card is going for about $50 Canadian with 512MB cards going for $100. (Sizes up to 2GB (2,000 MB) are available although sizes larger than 512MB currently are not attractively priced.)

Compare these devices with the "Pocket USB Drives" described below.

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