Counterclockwise: short history of the memory card

18 November 2018
Memory cards helped phones to store MP3s, the photos taken by the first camera phones and much, much more.

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  • AnonD-1046991
  • G}R
  • 19 Jun 2022

I have my both Energy 512MB (Near corrosed print) and Kingston 1GB DV-RS MMC seems useless and unused until purchasing some mobile phone that support MMC that I wish.

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    • AnonD-731363
    • SH3
    • 30 May 2022

    Great article i remember a good old times when first cards have pheraps 8 or 16 megabytes.

    Yet there is a mistake.
    The Siemens SL45 (2000) was the first phone to support removable flash storage – the MultiMedia Card, better known as MMC. It was co-designed by Siemens and SanDisk and unveiled in 1997, so no wonder MMC was picked over competing flash cards.
    First cell phone supporting MMC Cards was Nokia 9110i Communicator from 1999 year.

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      • GSMArena Commenter
      • Kg{
      • 02 Dec 2018

      The first phone that has an expandable memory is actually the Nokia 9110 Communicator from 1998!

        AnonD-558092, 18 Nov 2018There are high-endurance cards but those aren't free. Cheap... moreHuawei Nano Memory card is expensive right now because it is new form factor, just like the pendrive 3 years ago it is expensive compared today price with the same spec. Instead making the memory card slightly smaller better making the crowded camera lens smaller.

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          • AnonD-558092
          • 45}
          • 20 Nov 2018

          Alien , 20 Nov 2018How could someone be bragging for 30$ simply baffles me. I ... moreI'm not bragging about anything. I was just putting a name on my argument (otherwise it's easy to make up void arguments)

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            • Alien
            • 3RM
            • 20 Nov 2018

            AnonD-558092, 19 Nov 2018Those cards are now cheaper. The one I was referring to is ... moreHow could someone be bragging for 30$ simply baffles me. I have my eyes on the 400GB version that costs 300$ :)
            That's something to be complaining about, not 30 bucks lmao.
            But I'm still gonna buy it.
            It's something that I know for sure I'll be using on my future phone when I'll upgrade.
            That's why I'm never interested in SDless phones.

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              • AnonD-558092
              • Yd6
              • 19 Nov 2018

              Alien , 19 Nov 2018What you pay is what you get. If you buy a 30€ SD card, th... moreThose cards are now cheaper. The one I was referring to is a SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB. For 26 Euros, it's inexpensive and of high quality with a long-lasting warranty (it's now lifetime!). But you still got people complaining about the price

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                • Anonymous
                • PA7
                • 19 Nov 2018

                Siemens the first MMC.
                Motorola the first SD card along with connect to PC without driver.
                Thanks for heaps of innovations

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                  • Alien
                  • 3RM
                  • 19 Nov 2018

                  What you pay is what you get.
                  If you buy a 30€ SD card, then don't babble like a broken record that your card got corrupted or that the speeds are too low.
                  An expensive SD card with absolutely make a difference both in speeds and in reliability. I have a class 10 extreme SD card from SanDisk that's 6 years old and I'm still using it without any problems.
                  Hell, I even managed to install the whole Android os of my old HTC Desire on the SD card and the phone itself booted from it. I loved the fact that if I removed the SD, the phone would bootloop and wouldn't work without it. :)
                  I know that nowadays that doesn't apply anymore, but I still store everything on the SD card and on the internal memory I only install apps.
                  The users saying that sd cards are obsolete are just regular Facebook users without any kind of technical skills or blind fans that own either an iPhone or a china brand that doesn't have the SD card slot. . No geek will back them up. Because geeks know what you can do with a GOOD EXPENSIVE SD card.
                  My advice : if you own a high-end flagship, don't be cheap, buy an expensive SD card and you'll never regret it.

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                    • Adam
                    • vtx
                    • 19 Nov 2018

                    God damn I love these articles. Read everyone from beginning to end. Well done GSMarena. This is some fantastic content to have on your site. Keep these history based stories coming.

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                      • Gio
                      • Yew
                      • 19 Nov 2018

                      Shanti Dope, 19 Nov 2018You don't mind using dollars as a currency unit for a more ... moreYou can buy 128 gb Uhs-1 micro sc card from samsung own website for 32 $ atm,dirt cheap.

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                        • AnonD-731363
                        • SH3
                        • 19 Nov 2018

                        Well and i thought a storing data is a new technology and as i see in 1725 they had first data like cards.
                        Well no wonder first computer is more than 2000 years old.

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                          • AnonD-558092
                          • 45}
                          • 19 Nov 2018

                          Shanti Dope, 19 Nov 2018You don't mind using dollars as a currency unit for a more ... moreAlso, phones aren't expensive if you know what you need. Or if you know how to moderate your needs to accommodate your budget. There are very good phones under a tight budget, including the too-often overlooked previous-gen models which are just as good and have all you need. If I really lacked money, I could buy an ORIGINAL Galaxy A5 or A7, I'd save a boatload of cash but I still get a razor-thin, all-metal build, 5"+ HD or FHD Super AMOLED, Gorilla Glass 4, ISOCELL cameras and fluid processors (yup I called the SD410 a fluid processor, it's all about moderating your needs. You don't need to play PUBG or lamenite and excellent games exist that aren't graphics intensive) and Marshmallow with proprietary PiP and Multiwindow. And a ton of features now yet available on Android P (and name me real significant features of Android N, O and P?). All under a budget.

                          I also precise that "upper class" cards are retailing for more than 100$. That's 30 we're talking about, not a hundred.

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                            • AnonD-558092
                            • 45}
                            • 19 Nov 2018

                            Shanti Dope, 19 Nov 2018You don't mind using dollars as a currency unit for a more ... moreOkay... You really got mad because I said you can buy a high reliability SD Card (64GB) at 30$? If you calculate using your calculator, you can see your Transcend SD card is a ripoff. And I bet it's not even UHS-U1.

                            "Upper class" SD Cards are UHS-I U30 V30 A2 SDXC Cards.

                            Also lots of people here post prices in their native currencies and I never complained about it. Doesn't kill me to search "19999 INR to CAD" or "8000 ILS to EUR"

                              AnonD-558092, 18 Nov 2018High endurance cards are for more intense uses and 99% reli... moreYou don't mind using dollars as a currency unit for a more universally understood level of pricing, do you?
                              If my calculator is right, it should be around $28, and personally, it's NOT even that cheap.
                              The phones themselves are already super expensive, and purchasing an upper class SD Card is just another shot of bullet on the injured body part.
                              Let the rich ones have those kinds of SD Cards, but still give the less money-gifted ones the cheaper alternative which comes with no major deal breakers.
                              I'm still using a $10 Transcend 16GB memory card (not the highest class possible) and it's working completely fine for more than 2 years to me still.

                              Just because you can afford something, doesn't mean that everyone else also can. So your demand of using more expensive and better quality SD Cards is fine, as long as you don't penalize the less budget-capable ones their choice of a cheaper version.

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                                • Anonymous
                                • J7N
                                • 19 Nov 2018

                                Trollbuster, 18 Nov 2018Huawei Nano Memory card is the best!New rule : Never judge a product from its first month.

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                                  • AnonD-558092
                                  • 45}
                                  • 18 Nov 2018

                                  Trollbuster, 18 Nov 2018Huawei Nano Memory card is the best!Yeah! It's widely available and inexpensive!
                                  /s

                                    [deleted post]Huawei Nano Memory card is the best!

                                      O S, 18 Nov 2018If they wanted to progress, they should have tried to be th... moreHey, at least that's more worth it than minimising the size of a memory card slot without adding any key advantages over SD Card slots

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                                        • AnonD-558092
                                        • 45}
                                        • 18 Nov 2018

                                        Shanti Dope, 18 Nov 2018"Also the industry is willing to pay for those better cards... moreHigh endurance cards are for more intense uses and 99% reliability, such as a-tad-beyond-amateur photography, professional cameras, dash cams, surveillance systems... Those cards are made to endure back-to-back, constant intense usage. And they are definitely worth the price premium. Such cards cost 37CAD for 64GB. Tell me this is expensive.