An SD card (Secure Digital Memory Card) is a digital storage medium based on flash memory. It was developed in 2011 and is based on the MMC standard v2.11. The exact specification is kept secret and only accessible to paying licensees of the SD card association.
Originally the SD card had a capacity of 8 megabytes, which was subsequently doubled again and again (16 MB, 32 MB, ...). Special SDHC cards (SD high capacity cards) support up to 32 gigabytes and so-called SDXC cards (SD extended capacity cards) even reach up to 2 terabytes.
An SD card has the dimensions 24 mm x 32 mm x 2.1 mm and has a small slider for write protection. However, this is not recognized by the card itself, but the device into which the SD card is inserted reads the write protection. SD cards are mainly used in digital cameras and camcorders, where they save photo and video recordings, but also in game consoles and other devices. They are too big for smartphones, which is why other variants have been developed.
Other types of SD card
- miniSD card: The miniSD card is half the size of an SD card and has a capacity of up to 16 GB. However, it is not widely used and was discontinued in 2009.
- microSD card: The micro SD card is even smaller, just 11 mm x 15 mm x 1 mm in size. It is mainly used in cell phones and allows you to save a large amount of photos, videos and e-mails. It can be expanded to SD card format using adapters. The data can then be read out on the PC.
SD cards in mini PCs
SD card slots are now almost commonplace in laptops, and they are also becoming increasingly common in mini PCs. They allow data to be read out quickly and easily, for example from cameras or industrial machines.
spo-comm mini-PCs with SD card slots:
The ultra-compact mini-PCs of the BOX series BOX N4100 and BOX E3940 each have a micro SD card slot. The digital signage players TEGRA 2 and QUADRO P1000 can be equipped with an SD card. In addition to normal SD cards, the KUMO V also supports the SDHC and SDXC standards.
