Fruit For Life

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 sided with the SD time and time again, and both companies have begun to pull their xD products from the shelves, opting instead to get on the SD bandwagon.

No 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.

On the other hand, the xD card is exclusive to Fujifilm and Olympus digital cameras. There are SD cards on the market now that can store up to 32 GB of space. The maximum for an xD card is 2 GB — hardly enough for most higher end electronics.

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.

Issues With Corruption

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.

Any number of things can cause corruption, like giving the camera commands while it is still working on processing an image, or if you take out your card before powering down your camera.

Corruption hasn’t hit the SD card as hard as it has the xD. It can be a problem in any camera, but the possibility of a customer corrupting files while using an SD card seems to be less than the chances of those struggling to use their xD.

Pricey Product

One of the odd things about the xD is that, considering its corruption problems and compatibility issues, it is far more expensive than the bigger SD cards. You can pick up an Olympus 2 GB xD card from Amazon.com for $17.50, but the SD card of an identical size is only $8.49.

The difference is so stark that it would make sense for a user to buy a new camera rather than gouge themselves on memory cards.

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.

Fujifilm and Olympus still supply xD memory cards for the time being. The xD digital memory card format is still available at regular prices, so pick one up today if you’re in need of one for your camera. There are many new digital camera models to look at as well, so shop for all your storage device needs at a trusted website today.