Having already reviewed a 1GB CompactFlash Memory Card from ByteStor earlier in our website, we tried reviewing another popular memory card in its rank this time around namely the ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Card to check out if it is really a high-speed memory card and the results seem quite convincing in terms of performance and value. Before we review the ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card, here are some of its positives and negatives that deserve mention.

Pluses:

  • Bargain price
  • High quality & very useful
  • Decent storage
  • User friendly
  • Fast transfer speed

Negatives:
Does not usually work in a MMC (MultiMedia Card) socket.

ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card

What you get in the pack:

Let us begin with what you get in the pack; A micro SD card, a memory card which is roughly about a sixth of size of a standard SD card, an adaptor that looks somewhat like a regular SD card, but in fact is designed and built for the micro card to neatly slip inside and so it can be used in anything that takes a regular sized SD card.

You also have a card reader and this means you can upload things to your micro card or in fact download them there from. Getting through the packaging, we were confronted with the white USB reader and a tiny plastic box containing the Adapter and Micro SD card. Putting everything together was a breeze and no wonder each piece fitted together like a 3-piece jigsaw puzzle. The card comes complete with a protection lock and the actual SD card adapter and micro SD is packed in a nice, plastic protective case to keep them neat and tidy.

Small is sometimes good:

The USB card reader is pretty small enough to carry anywhere with you and it enables fast upload and download speeds. The card can be connected to any PC or laptop via a USB port and Window will have no trouble finding it automatically, so there is no need for you to install it all the time. The USB reader measures about 65mm (L) x 22mm (W) x 10 mm (D) and the micro adapter is of the same size as that of an SD card. This particular module is termed micro SD card because of its small size (tiny in fact) and this means it can fit easily into the phone.

Things we found useful:

One of the biggest advantages of this ByteStor Hi-Speed 80x Secure Digital Memory Card is that it can save faster and so the time spent in waiting between shots particularly in high-res mode is considerably less. We tried taking longer movies on our digital camera and camcorder, the results were telling at greater quality with smooth playback. The ByteStor Hi-Speed SD Card is perfect for large applications and it could read and save data faster on our PDA. The results of course will depend on the model of your device and the settings. You can shoot more pictures on vacations or holidays where downloading might be impractical. Suppose if your card happens to be full on holiday, you will not be able to re-use the card without downloading the current images first.

We were able to capture more hi-resolution images and try taking pictures on the highest setting because you have the option for larger prints compared to basic or normal setting. You can take multiple shots and choose the best one when practical. Here we had a slight problem and that was deleting unwanted shots from the camera on the move. This really turned out to be difficult and rather time consuming. The good news is that it can save more data, images and games with your picture mobile phone and obviously it allows you to carry a wide range of music for your MP3 player at high quality. This card is manufactured making use of industry standard (SLC) technology compatibility and issues concerning reliability are dramatically reduced. The ByteStor Hi-Speed SD Card has a Read/write speed of 10MB/s (66X on the basis of the CD ROM scale) and this is about 10 times higher compared to its 1GB SD Card version (and that is really welcome if you use SD cards with a handheld PocketPC). The transaction speed is very good even on the digital photo frame, but it does not make it palpable how many photos it would store on a digital photo frame. It took just about 3 seconds to transfer 50MB and some cards such as Extreme III will cost you twice but obviously does the same thing.

Data transfer rate:

Although we believe bigger pack like 4GB is available, this 2GB was plenty of room for us to store tons of music on it without getting closer anywhere to the limit. Besides, the data that we put on this memory card seems to have a faster data transfer rate to and from it compared to our much expensive SD card that we use in the camera, so we are pretty pleased with the data transfer rate. At less than £7, we thought it was great value for money and we stand by that. But we have heard you can actually purchase this set for less than £6 in some places which is a really give away and is a must buy if you require extra room for files on your mobile.

Formatting:

Before you begin any transfer of data, you first have to format the ByteStor 2GB micro SD card. This is achieved by slotting the card into the mobile phone and sticking to the phone instructions on formatting (each telephone might have a unique method to do this). But once you are done with the formatting (which was a matter of minutes via mobile phone), your Micro SD should now contain five separate folders:  Videos, images, sounds, music and other files. Each folder is now set to be filled in your very own way. Now you are ready to transfer the data you have chosen including music, data, images and video onto the little device, though we should state that when you are opting for videos, you have to convert the files into 3GP for them to work on the particular phone. Said this, you can find several conversion programs available on the market to do this.

How do you use it?

This is the clever bit which makes it so simple that even a child can easily use it. The actual micro SD card is to be slotted into the adaptor. Then the adapter is slotted into the USB reader. Finally the adapter’s USB connector is pushed into one of your USB ports on your PC. Now you are ready to begin filling up your SD card with the photos, music and the like, hence you could carry the information on the mobile phone.

Transferring data:

The little beauty does make transferring almost anything to your phone a breeze. Firstly with the USB reader now consisting of the SD card adapter which in turn has the actual SD Micro card, push the complete lot into a selected USB port on your PC (sounds a bit tricky, but it is not). Once you push the adapter into the USB port, it will be recognised as an external device. (Let us give you an example: KFAT1 or F :) . This file is to be opened and should be given with the five files as mentioned earlier. If not, then your card requires formatting through your mobile telephones (Refer to formatting above). Once the five files appear, then you will have no trouble transferring your chosen data from the files on your computer by either ‘send to’ or ‘drag & drop’. For some ‘send to’ method will seem quicker than the ‘drag & drop’, though both ways work quite well and so we suppose it is more like an individual decision. The songs and images drag and dropped over with such easiness soon filling the rather cumbersome 2GB which the micro SD card gives you. Do note that you can get away without using the USB adapter and just make use of the card adapter if your PC allows it. Once you are done with transferring the data you need, it is then an issue of dismantling the unit, taking the Micro SD card from the USB reader and adapter. Now place the micro SD card into the mobile device. That is it and now you are ready to take your data anywhere with you.

Warranty details:

The ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card comes with a 5 year swap-out warranty from the original purchase date.

In a nutshell:

The 2GB ByteStor SD memory card had no class number on it and we found out later when we purchased some 8GB memory cards that featured Class 2, 4 and 6 with Class 6 being more ideal for video, so we assume as it is faster. We tried two cards for downloading MP3s in order to play on a bedside DAB unit, but found that both cards failed in the similar way with I/O errors and then were corrupt. To sum up things on a positive note, it is the simplicity of this little beauty that undoubtedly turned out to be enticing point and drew us to buying it, although the price too had a big hand in it as well. It is great for action photography, high-resolution movies and images making use of the latest devices such as high-megapixel cameras. You will have no problem using the device in SD compliant devices including PDA’s, digital cameras, digital camcorders, notebooks, MP3 players, tracking systems, mobile phones and music devices.

ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer ByteStor
Model Name ByteStor Hi-Speed 2GB SD Memory Card
Memory Card Type Micro SD card
Dimensions 65mm (L) x 22mm (W) x 10mm (D)
Package contents 2GB micro SD card
SD card adapter
USB reader
Protective case & protection lock
Technology Standard (SLC) technology
Read/write speed 10MB/s (66X on the basis of the CD ROM scale)
Capacity 2GB
Other Available Capacities 256MB, 512MB, 1GB & 4GB
Applications to use PDA’s, digital cameras, digital camcorders,
notebooks, MP3 players, tracking systems,
mobile phones, music devices
SDMI Compliant Yes
Class number No
Product features For High-resolution movies/images with
high-megapixel cameras & action photography
For multiple shots & choosing the best ones when practical
Save more data/images/games with picture mobile phone
Carries wide range of music for MP3 player at high quality
Warranty 5 year swap-out warranty

Other Memory Cards