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Accessories What Is Everyone Doing For Your Micro SD Upgrade

robo21

Android Expert
Jul 26, 2010
918
95
So Cal
Just curious what everyone is doing for an upgrade to the Micro SD card. I would like to go with a 32GB class 4 (minimum class 4) upgrade. So far I haven't been able to find a suitable upgrade. I don't want to get a 16GB now only to have to upgrade again later. I'm trying to stick with known brand names that come with a good (preferably lifetime) warranty.
 
I'm rolling with a class 2 8gb sandisk card I got at radio shack for like 15 bucks or so. Sure its not fast or huge, but my SD content plays perfectly from them and so does my music. I would get a better card if I wanted to record from the camcorder directly to it but really, I don't do a lot of video recording. So its a great cheap card. If it goes bad, I am not upset.
 
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I'm rolling with a class 2 8gb sandisk card I got at radio shack for like 15 bucks or so. Sure its not fast or huge, but my SD content plays perfectly from them and so does my music. I would get a better card if I wanted to record from the camcorder directly to it but really, I don't do a lot of video recording. So its a great cheap card. If it goes bad, I am not upset.

Thanks for the reply. I may have to go with an inexpensive card until something better is readily available. The main reason I'm looking for a class 4+ card is to speed up write times. Loading movies and other media can take awhile with slower cards and I do plan on doing HD video recording although the stock card seems to work just fine for that purpose.
 
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Moved from a Class 2 4gb Sandisk (from my Blackberry 9700) to a Class 4 16gb Kingston. Already have 8 movies on the card and can probably fit another 10-12. Best part is I paid under $40 for the card with a lifetime warranty. Picked up a Class 2 16gb from PNY/Polaroid the same day and there's a huge difference in write speed. Not sure if I just have a bad card, but I'm pretty sure that card is headed back to the store (and that one was under $20 after MIR!).
 
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Actually, I think that is being portrayed as a class 10. And the link that got me to that release mentioned class 10. If you look at the stamp in the upper right corner it appears to be a C with a "10" inside - that should indicate "class 10" I can't really make it out 100% due to the low res of the image.

This is what the Class 2 should look like:
microSDHC_32GB_140_new.jpg
Note the 2 in the upper right corner.


I've been very reluctant to purchase any memory cards from ebay because of the not uncommon practice of misrepresenting both capacity and class info. You are quite right the advertised capacity is the first thing that should be verified. I would take it a couple steps further and then verify the read and write speeds as well. That Micro SD card on ebay has no speed stamp on it. Then who provides warranty coverage, the seller or the manufacturer?

Here's a link to the SD association Webpage: http://www.sdcard.org/developers/tech/speed_class/

And Wikipedia has this to say on speeds:

There are different speeds of SD card available. The official unit of measurement is the Speed Class Rating; an older unit of measurement is the
 
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Click on the pic in your original link:

http://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/articleimage/Phil%20Nickinson/2010/03/Sandisk.jpg

That's a class 2.

The announcement may be about a class 10 (although I don't see that mentioned specifically), but the pic is of a class 2 card.

At $200 I would hope it's a class 10. :)

You are right. The link that took me to that article was an announcement that Sandisk was introducing a Class 10 32GB Micro SDHC. Hmmm. Somebody is either mistaken or used the wrong image to go with the press release.

And yes a $200 price tag would indicate Class 10 all the way. No way would they get away with charging that for a class 2 micro sd card.
 
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I just bought a RiData Class 6 16GB for $34.99, $36.98 shipped from newegg. They had the card on sale yesterday at Newegg for 34.99 and it was showing 48.99 and I click on it and it says 34.99 for a 16GB Class 6 and needless to say, I pulled the trigger on it instantly. Now its back to 48.99 plus $2 shipping.

Newegg.com - RiDATA Lightning Series 16GB Micro SDHC (MicroSD) Flash Card w/2 Adapters (SD/Mini SD/Mini SDHC) Model RDMICSDHC16G-LIG-2


And this was my tab yesterday from Newegg for the same card.

1 x ($34.99) FLASH 16G|RIDATA RDMICSDHC16G-LIG-2
$34.99







Payment Term: Paypal
Extended Warranty: $0.00
Subtotal: $34.99
Tax: $0.00
Shipping and Handling: $1.99
Total Amount: $36.98

I was looking at the 8GB Kingston Class 4 for $18 with free shipping until I saw this and was too good to pass up. Getting twice the capacity for twice the money. And a Class 6 instead of Class 4.
 
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I just bought a RiData Class 6 16GB for $34.99, $36.98 shipped from newegg. They had the card on sale yesterday at Newegg for 34.99 and it was showing 48.99 and I click on it and it says 34.99 for a 16GB Class 6 and needless to say, I pulled the trigger on it instantly. Now its back to 48.99 plus $2 shipping.

And this was my tab yesterday from Newegg for the same card.

I was looking at the 8GB Kingston Class 4 for $18 with free shipping until I saw this and was too good to pass up. Getting twice the capacity for twice the money. And a Class 6 instead of Class 4.

I enjoy shopping at Newegg, I buy all my computer components from them. They have good deals and great customer service.

It would be a good idea to check the transfer speeds on your micro SD card when you get it. A couple of the reviews I've read on the Ridata indicated that it is very slow. One even said "insanely slow." But if it transfers at the class 6 standard of 20 MB/second you are in good shape and that is a smoking deal.

Yes, it was still $32.99 as of last Friday.

I just went with a temporary solution a 16GB Class 4 Kingston for $37.99 shipped: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WIRFDW/ref=oss_product

It appears that Amazon is sold out for a few weeks. They do show other sellers but I like buying directly from Amazon as I have a Prime membership with them.

I am waiting until next year (unless another mfg comes out with one sooner) for a better solution as this is the email I received from Kingston in response to my request for info on a 32GB Class 10 Micro SD card:
Thank you for your interest in Kingston Technology.

At this time, Kingston does not manufacture a 32GB microSD card as this is scheduled to be released in the beginning of next year 2011. However, please click on the following link below for further information on our microSD cards currently offered:http://www.kingston.com/flash/sdhc_micro.aspYou may purchase from our online store directly or through our extensive network of more than 3,000 distributors and resellers worldwide.
 
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I enjoy shopping at Newegg, I buy all my computer components from them. They have good deals and great customer service.

It would be a good idea to check the transfer speeds on your micro SD card when you get it. A couple of the reviews I've read on the Ridata indicated that it is very slow. One even said "insanely slow." But if it transfers at the class 6 standard of 20 MB/second you are in good shape and that is a smoking deal.

I did read the reviews on that particular Ridata card and some have said it is slow. Some others have commented it is a good card so I figured I cannot go wrong at $35 and bought it. Remains to be seen how it performs or if it lives up to the Class 6 rating.

Yeah I am a big fan of Newegg myself and have been shopping with them for over 8 yrs now. It is between Newegg and Amazon I get most of my tech stuff.
 
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I got a 16GB Class 2 card cheap from Amazon (around $20 I think). It works fine, and I'm not really concerned about write times since I don't use tend to use my phone for video. IMO unless you're recording video or incredibly impatient, a Class 2 card works fine.

Write speeds/times do make a big difference while loading large folders of MP3's or feature length movies onto your Micro SD card. But heck if you're not in a big rush or not recording HD video, a class 2 will play them back just as well as a class 10.
 
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