Windows Phone Thoughts: SanDisk's 6 GB microSD: Big Storage, Small Package

When Toronto-based online gadget store Softpocket emailed me to let me know that they had SanDisk's 6 GB microSD card in stock for $99 CAD, my response was "Hey, send me one to look at!". Up until that point, I hadn't seen any of their microSDHC cards, and I wasn't actually sure which devices it would work in. There's been a lot of confusion over which Windows Mobile devices actually support SDHC, because it seems to be a little detail many specification sheets leave out. I tested it with the devices I had, and the results were as follows:

AT&T Tilt: Works, 5821 MB reported
HTC Touch: Works, 5821 MB reported
HTC Dual: Works, 5821 MB reported (though it felt like I was slumming because I had to take out an 8 GB SanDisk microSD to test the 6 GB microSD!)
T-Mobile Dash: Works, 5821 MB reported
iPAQ 100 Series: Works, 5821 MB reported (put microSD into SD card adaptor)
i-Mate Jasjar: Doesn't work (no surprise there)

You can see the pattern that all of the modern devices work with the 6 GB microSD card, and the older device does not.



If you were to go back in time ten years and say that 6 GB of storage could balance on someone's pinky fingernail, they'd tell you you were crazy. Yet here we are! Amazing.

In terms of performance, moving 905 MB of data to to the card (the scenario where you're loading it up with music or videos) via the MicroMate adaptor plugged into my monitor's USB port, I saw write speeds peak at around 7 MB/s, but average about 4.5 MB/s. That means if you're going to put 6 GB of music on there, expect it to take a little while. Pulling data from the card, say offloading pictures or videos you've taken with your device, I saw speeds peak at around 10 MB/s, and average out to about 8 MB/s. The reality is that no Windows Mobile device today can saturate the read/write speeds of a modern day memory card, so on-device performance will always be as fast as the device can handle.

In every way the memory card performed exactly as you'd expect. If you'd like to pick up one for yourself, Softpocket has them for $99 CAD.

Jason Dunn owns and operates Thoughts Media Inc., a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. It's been a rough week.