SD and MMC memory cards have long consolidated their place in the world of mobile electronics by being the most common standards to date, which is a good thing no matter how you look at it as consumers won’t run into headaches whenever they hit the local electronics store to pick up some extra memory. The MultiMediaCard Association has recently dropped some news concerning the new miCard memory card. This causes nothing but more confusion to those who are new to the gizmo scene, as we certainly have more than enough memory card formats to worry about at the moment. The miCard boasts dual interfaces, where one set of contacts mirrors those of a standard MMC arrangement, while a new set provides direct connectivity with an USB 2.0 port. Each miCard measures just 1.2cm wide and 1.95mm thin, enabling you to plug it inside any USB connector with ease.

Thankfully the miCard doesn’t come in a proprietary size as that would require you to purchase yet another memory card reader. Should the miCard be widely adopted (and I don’t see any reason why not), it would do away with the need for USB card readers, making it easy for users to just plug and play the miCard into devices such as computers, digital cameras, cellphones, PDAs, printers, and the like. Data transfer maxes out at 480Mbps - similar to that of any other USB 2.0 device.

Before you slot in the miCard into any SD/MMC slot, make sure you use a mechanical adaptor. While future devices are expected to come with a special miCard slot (just like how devices these days have moved on to the microSD format), you can still retrofit it with the said adaptor. The miCard standard was originally developed by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) from Taiwan, and the miCard has so far received backing from a dozen companies including Asustek, Carry Computer, InnoDisk and Pretec. Would you make the switch?

Source: IT Wire