Compatibility Trouble and Corruption Ruin xD Memory Cards

By Paula Hill

Fujifilm and Olympus produced their xD memory cards (extreme Digital) in 2002 and have since tried to keep up with their competitor, the Secure Digital (SD) memory cards.

Technology has continued to evolve, and both companies are finally beginning to slow down on xD card production in favor of the widespread and infinitely more flexible SD format.

Difficulty With Compatibility

The SD cards enjoy such success mainly because it is compatible in such a wide range of devices. These memory cards are used in everything from PDA's to video games to camcorders, not to mention the ever popular digital cameras.

The xD is only good with Fujifilm and Olympus digital cameras -- a huge limitation. SD cards are available today at your local electronics store that can hold 32 GB of space. An xD maxes out at only 2 GB, which would be far too limiting to work effectively with other devices anyway.

The xD cards also have some bad word of mouth due to their difficulties with compatibility with software and some accessories for cameras. A lot of trouble can come from this, as users who want a simple process will wind up mired in a drawn out mess.

Corrupted Data

The entire reason a user takes pictures with a camera to begin with is to remember moments that will never come again. Therefore, it's incredibly frustrating when the camera corrupts the xD card data -- a major error that will more than likely happen at least once to a user over time, if not more often, due to any number of reasons.

Some of the more common activities that will trash your stuff include buttons being pushed in the middle of a camera load, for instance, or removing your card without first turning off your camera.

The SD card, while not immune to corruption, is not mentioned as often as the xD. Corruption can be a difficulty faced with any camera, but there are many more instances of xD cards experiencing corruption than its SD alternative.

Difficult Pricing

The strangest discrepancy among these memory cards has to do with the price of the limited xD versus the more efficient SD card. A 2 GB Olympus xD card is available through Amazon.com for $17.50, and the SD version of that same size card is priced at $8.49.

The quality differences are so extreme that it is not surprising that more and more consumers are buying devices with SD memory card compatibility rather than the xD.

Despite the fact that the SD originated in'99, it's still powered for expansion to fit in with many of the electrical devices being sold today and, featuring all that disk space, it's not hard to like them.

As customers continue to choose the SD over the xD, Olympus and Fujifilm are right to leave behind their xD cards and try something new. - 30452

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