It's been a long seven years for xD memory card customers, but Fujifilm and Olympus have finally decided to start phasing out this product, acquiescing to the power of the more efficient SD memory cards. As an example of how thoroughly whooped the xD memory cards have become, xD card readers are now being sold with SD adapters - that's the closest the manufacturers will ever come to admitting defeat.
Irritated customers all over the country will say this has been a long time coming. The xD memory cards have caused a lot of people a lot of grief. Let's take a look at some of the most reported issues that consumers have had with their xD memory cards.
Files Corrupted, Data Lost
One of the biggest issues customers have reported with the xD memory cards is their tendency to corrupt stored data. Considering these cards are used almost exclusively in digital cameras, losing irreplaceable memories to data corruption is an unforgivable offense. Corruption can occur for almost any reason: using low batteries or turning off the camera while processing or pushing unnecessary buttons while taking pictures.
Brief Lifespan Hurts Reliability
These days, memory cards are built featuring a special technology known as "wear leveling." This technology tracks the usage of the memory on a card by number of blocks, which helps to increase the lifespan of a memory card. This feature only becomes more important as memory cards shrink in physical size.
The manufacturers refuse to address this issue, choosing instead to continue releasing xD memory cards that do not utilize wear leveling technology. As a result, xD memory cards wear out before their SD equivalents.
Low Memory And A Crawling Speed
The xD memory card was initially released with 512 MB. These days, the manufacturers have increased this number to 2 GB, which, although it's definitely a step up from the first number, it's nowhere near what is necessary to store much of anything, particularly if a digital camera is used for recording video. The SD card, by comparison, is available in sizes up to 32 GB. The xD memory cards are also much slower than the competition.
Low Quality Meets High Prices
Most xD memory cards don't hold much storage space, have more problems with data corruption, are slower than SD cards, and have short lives. Seeing as how they are inferior to the SD cards, it would make sense if they were also cheaper, but the 2 GB xD card is actually twice as expensive as a similarly sized SD card. In fact, there are some larger SD cards that are still cheaper than that 2 GB xD memory card.
Final Thoughts: SD Memory Cards Are The Future
The economy that we live in these days makes consumers side with whatever takes the least amount of green out of their wallets. By this litmus test, it's no shocker that xD is failing and the SD is taking its place. If Fujifilm and Olympus are not about to improve their product and take steps to improve their cards for widespread camera use, then what other choice do consumers have?
Irritated customers all over the country will say this has been a long time coming. The xD memory cards have caused a lot of people a lot of grief. Let's take a look at some of the most reported issues that consumers have had with their xD memory cards.
Files Corrupted, Data Lost
One of the biggest issues customers have reported with the xD memory cards is their tendency to corrupt stored data. Considering these cards are used almost exclusively in digital cameras, losing irreplaceable memories to data corruption is an unforgivable offense. Corruption can occur for almost any reason: using low batteries or turning off the camera while processing or pushing unnecessary buttons while taking pictures.
Brief Lifespan Hurts Reliability
These days, memory cards are built featuring a special technology known as "wear leveling." This technology tracks the usage of the memory on a card by number of blocks, which helps to increase the lifespan of a memory card. This feature only becomes more important as memory cards shrink in physical size.
The manufacturers refuse to address this issue, choosing instead to continue releasing xD memory cards that do not utilize wear leveling technology. As a result, xD memory cards wear out before their SD equivalents.
Low Memory And A Crawling Speed
The xD memory card was initially released with 512 MB. These days, the manufacturers have increased this number to 2 GB, which, although it's definitely a step up from the first number, it's nowhere near what is necessary to store much of anything, particularly if a digital camera is used for recording video. The SD card, by comparison, is available in sizes up to 32 GB. The xD memory cards are also much slower than the competition.
Low Quality Meets High Prices
Most xD memory cards don't hold much storage space, have more problems with data corruption, are slower than SD cards, and have short lives. Seeing as how they are inferior to the SD cards, it would make sense if they were also cheaper, but the 2 GB xD card is actually twice as expensive as a similarly sized SD card. In fact, there are some larger SD cards that are still cheaper than that 2 GB xD memory card.
Final Thoughts: SD Memory Cards Are The Future
The economy that we live in these days makes consumers side with whatever takes the least amount of green out of their wallets. By this litmus test, it's no shocker that xD is failing and the SD is taking its place. If Fujifilm and Olympus are not about to improve their product and take steps to improve their cards for widespread camera use, then what other choice do consumers have?
About the Author:
Smart media cards or a Fujifilm xD memory card will give you the space you need to enjoy the electronic gadgets of your choosing. Do you want to try one today? Buy the memory cards you need from trusted online vendors for the most up-to-date products.
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