8GB SDHC Cards Now Available

Posted By: Kris Keilhack on Thursday, December 07, 2006 1:58:47 PM

It seems like only yesterday that 4gb SD 1.1 and 4gb SD 2.0 (aka SDHC) cards were released. But already 8gb SDHC cards are appearing in volume and free-falling in price.

Online e-tailer Newegg is listing a Transcend 8gb SDHC card for $130. Until very recently SD cards of this capacity were scarce and expensive, costing nearly $300.

As always, buyer beware -- very few devices are compatible with 4gb SD cards, even fewer are compatible with 4gb SDHC, and an even smaller number can handle 8gb SDHC cards. Recent high-end digital cameras are likely the only devices certified to handle such massive cards.

Palm has yet to make an official statement one way or another on their SDHC support plans. However, according to reports on several Palm-related websites and forums, 8gb and larger cards (all the way up to the maximum theoretical limit of 2TB) use "sector addressing" whereas 4gb and smaller cards use "byte addressing".

[via MobilityBeat]

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21 total comments

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Good to know

ackmondual @ 12/7/2006 5:49:24 PM #

SDHC is new to me. According Wiki, SDHC is another form of compliance or compatibility, so It's quite a shame it'll take time for new Palm PDAs to _MAYBE_ officially support this. Just think, ppl alr have a typical desktop PC setup of 100GB - 200GB int hd while plugging in 200GB+ ext hd. It'd be kickass to have u to 1GB user RAM plus an 8GB SDHC card (assuming pOS can address all that data). That's a whole library of movies right there!! 'Ipod that also does video' may have the GB-to-$$ ratio value and sheer capacity, but it's 2" screen is still HURTING for movies.

It sounds like this 2.0 compliance is quite different, not just a matter of not being able to address all the available capacity. Is there ANY chance that current Palms (LD, T|X, tr7xx) might be able to make good, if not full use of these 8GB SDHC cards? I just tried a 2GB Sandisk SD card on my T|T3 (w/ROM update and DIA files, but w/o that FAT32 driver update that's been abuzz around these forums) and the full 1.89GB actually registers in the info screen. I haven't filled the card so whether or not this pans out is another thing entirely.

Finally, wven tho i don't use CF, I am excited to hear what's in store for it. Last I checked, we're up to 32GB for over several thousand $$? I am eager to see 64GB just for the sake of doing so.

"Do you know the difference between an error and a mistake? Anyone can make an error, but that error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."
-Grand Admiral Thrawn

the secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse

My PDAs: Visor --> Visor Neo (blue) --> Zire 71 --> Tungsten T3 (with 4 _GOLDEN_ screws) + zodiac 2

RE: Good to know

T. @ 12/8/2006 9:25:42 PM #

If it is like my T3 was with a 2 Gig SD card, you will be able to see it and read it but NOT write to it.

8GB? Wow.

Gekko @ 12/7/2006 6:14:53 PM #

Now if I could only get a Treo with more than a sparse and pokey 64MB RAM, I'd be all set.

SDHC vs SD

t3h @ 12/7/2006 6:58:58 PM #

From Wikipedia:

SD and SDHC - compatibility
A new SD format, SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity), allows capacities in excess of 2GB (4GB to 32GB). SDHC uses the same form factor as SD, but compatibility is not complete in either direction. The SD 2.0 standard in SDHC uses a different memory addressing method (sector addressing vs byte addressing[5]), causing devices that do not specifically support SD 2.0 / SDHC to fail to recognize the memory cards. Making the issue more confusing is the fact that some manufacturers have produced semi-nonstandard 4GB SD cards. These cards are incompatible with SD devices that don't support the larger formats, and are also incompatible with many SDHC devices, because they don't conform to the SD 2.0 spec for High Capacity memory cards. As of late 2006, the simultaneous availability of non-standards 4GB SD and 4GB SDHC cards, and the incompatibilities between SD and SDHC have caused a great deal of confusion among consumers looking to buy memory for various devices.

The non-standard 4GB SD cards are the ones that work on Palms. There's no real need to do sector addressing on anything 4GB or below.

Palm TX + 1GB SD + Motorola v3x = awesomeness

*sigh*

sremick @ 12/8/2006 1:01:48 PM #

Hell, if I could "upgrade" to a Palm PDA which supported 2GB that did AT LEAST everything my current one did, I'd be happy. Let alone 4GB and 8GB SD cards... 2GB would cover me, but I can't give up a dozen important features in-trade of more SD space. *sigh* So I continue to be stuck at 1GB...

http://vtbsd.net/winhelp/

RE: *sigh*

AdamaDBrown @ 12/8/2006 3:55:54 PM #

I take it you're running on a T3? The T3 fully uses cards up to 1.5 GB; if you stick a 2 GB card in, it should recognize up to 1.5 GB of it. You can also make the T3 read 2 GB and 4 GB cards, but not write to them. This requires that you install the hacked FAT32 driver, and set the card to read-only via the side switch.

card support over 1GB on Palms..

joad @ 12/8/2006 1:28:34 PM #

sremick-

Not sure how old your PDA is, but by now most of the recent OS5 Palms have been hacked for the FAT32 driver, and FAT supports up to 2GB...

RE: card support over 1GB on Palms..

hkklife @ 12/8/2006 2:13:17 PM #

Joad;

A small correction: FAT inherently supports up to 2gb BUT some older/cheaper Palms are hardware limited to 1gb cards, with the OS 4.x models possibly supporting even less. I think a lot of consumers are going to end up so confused that they just take a pass at 2gb SDs, SDHC, etc. and wait for the next "major" standard to shake itself out.

Off the top of my head, I *THINK* Palm's devices have these SD card size limits:
(all of this is assuming a stock handheld w/ no FAT32 hacking etc)

512mb: m500, m125/130, T|W

1gb SD: T|T series, T|C, Zire 71, Zire 31, T|E & E2

2gb SD: Zire 72, Treo 600, Treo 650, T5, Tapwave Zodiac 1 & 2

4gb SD: LifeDrive, TX, Treo 700p, Treo 680, all WinMob Treos

Given FrankenGarnet's current limitations, the absolute best case scenario one could hope for in a "current" tech Palm OS device would be something like the T5, LD or TX with 128mb RAM, a 4gb internal flash or microdrive storage volume, and a FAT32-formatted 4gb SD card in the expansion slot.

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

RE: card support over 1GB on Palms..

freakout @ 12/8/2006 4:06:08 PM #

Maybe with Palm back in control of PalmOS, we'll see SDHC support on Garnet in the future? /hope

Tim
I apologise for any and all emoticons that appear in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
Treo 270 ---> Treo 650 ---> Crimson Treo 680

RE: card support over 1GB on Palms..

Wollombi @ 12/9/2006 2:17:07 PM #

Um...shyeah, and maybe pigs will fly too.

_________________
Sean

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

RE: card support over 1GB on Palms..

Tamog @ 12/9/2006 6:28:49 PM #

Hi,
correction from a newly-m500-owning critter. Palm m500 can handle 1GB cards. In case you don't believe me, the evidence is here:
http://tamspalm.tamoggemon.com/2006/10/04/the-palm-m500-can-use-1gb-sd-cards/

Best regards
Tam Hanna

Find out more about the Palm OS in my blog:
http://tamspalm.tamoggemon.com

Don't buy it now!

ray00pal @ 12/9/2006 11:21:08 PM #

If you wait a little longer, not only 16GB will show up but the price of 8G will drop!!!

RE: Don't buy it now!

Gekko @ 12/10/2006 6:52:40 PM #

>If you wait a little longer, not only 16GB will show up but the price of 8G will drop!!!

Why not wait for the 32GB or the 64GB? How about the 128GB or the 256GB?

Silly.

RE: Don't buy it now!

ray00pal @ 12/11/2006 6:04:29 AM #

Your name is funny. I think those sizes will come later then the 16GB so you don't need to worry about it.

First hands-on experience with the 8gb SDHC

hkklife @ 12/9/2006 11:16:37 PM #

I just got my Transcend 8gb SDHC card in the mail yesterday. I've tested it so far on my desktop's SD card reader, my 700p, my TX and my Casio EX-Z850 digital camera w/ latest firmware.

8gb in a single flash card is truly an amazing amount of space. I recall just 5 years ago struggling along with an 8 MEGABYTE MMC in my m505 and in my first SD/MMC digital camera.

Anyway, back to the Transcend: it locks up my desktop PC 's card reader; it's a generic internal drive from Newegg & approx 6 months old.

The SDHC card isn't even recognized in the 700p & TX. At least there is no card corruption by the Palm evices. Strangely enough, it doesn't click into the slot like a standard SD card does. The thickness of the SDHC card seems slightly thicker than a standard-spec 1gb Kingston SD but not as thick as my unofficial spec 4gb Patriot SD card.

It works flawlessly in the Casio camera and appears to be as fast as my previous 2gb Sandisk Ultra II SD card. Very nice!

I'll continue testing it throughout the week on my other devices to see if any of them are SDHC compatible. I'm not holding my breath, though!

Pilot 1000-->Pilot 5000-->PalmPilot Pro-->IIIe-->Vx-->m505-->T|T-->T|T2-->T|C-->T|T3-->T|T5-->TX-->Treo 700P

Compatibiltiy list

grimpeur @ 12/10/2006 1:10:10 PM #

Does anyone have a list out there of 4GB SD/MMC cards that are compatible with Garnet.

RE: Compatibiltiy list

twrock @ 12/10/2006 7:15:25 PM #

I tried two yesterday that did not work with my TX: Adata and "Max Gold" (never even heard of it before). Both would read fine, but on writing or deleting, they took around 30 seconds to do a single file copy or a single file delete. With my 2gb Transcend card, those same processes are less than a second each. YMMV.

I'm still waiting for the mythical color HandEra.

RE: Compatibiltiy list

Patrick @ 12/10/2006 8:31:07 PM #

I just bought a Patriot Extreme 133x 4GB (regular) SD card and it works great in my Treo 680. It also works fine in my Treo 650 with its hacked ROM w/FAT32 support.

RE: Compatibiltiy list

freakout @ 12/10/2006 8:51:10 PM #

I use a Transcend 150x 4GB SD. Works fine in both my 680 and hacked FAT32 650.

Tim
I apologise for any and all emoticons that appear in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
Treo 270 ---> Treo 650 ---> Crimson Treo 680

8 GB SDHC Transcend Card works with the TREO 650

thepalmkid @ 12/29/2006 11:45:47 AM #

8 GB SDHC Card works with the TREO 650
Text in German. 680 files had to be transfered to the 650 ROM.

http://www.pug-karlsruhe.de.vu/

RE: 8 GB SDHC Transcend Card works with the TREO 650

kindofblue @ 12/14/2007 6:58:07 PM #

Palmkid,

I looked on that link, to no avail. Do you have the details for getting the Transcend (or Kensington) 8GB card to work on the Treo 650 you could post here? Thanks!

Palm Software on sale