How to choose a memory card for the phone? SD Card

The amount of information required for work and entertainment increases every day. The quality of photos and video files is growing, and with them the "weight" is growing. As a consequence, the built-in memory of our gadgets, especially from the budget segment, is sorely lacking. This problem is solved easily, especially in phones with a removable battery. Why in them, how to choose a memory card for the phone for any budget and many other issues will be discussed in this article.

Memory card. What is it?

Typically, a memory card is a small rectangle of black color, but sometimes the appearance is different. Depending on the model, it has a different amount of memory. In modern models of a variety of gadgets, only one type of memory card is used - microSD, although there are quite a few of them.

Earlier, when mobile phones were just beginning to acquire additional memory, each manufacturer tried to invent its own format, different from the others. For example, the memory card of LG phone could not be installed in Nokia. Over time, this trend, as well as specific connectors for charging, smoothly came to naught. In this there is a plus, after all, changing the smartphone, now does not necessarily have to re-acquire to him this important accessory.

How much do I need?

When it comes to the required amount of SD Card, you should first of all ask yourself about which files you have to work with most often. In order to navigate at least a little, you can look at the following list showing the approximate size of the files that are familiar to us:

• Melody or track - from 3 to 10 megabytes.
• Photography - from 1 to 5 megabytes.
• The film (depending on the quality) from 700 megabytes to several gigabytes.

If you are accustomed to using only high-quality content, you will have to think about memory cards from 32 GB or more. If the card is only needed to store a small playlist and current photos, its volume can easily be calculated using the above information. Unequivocally you can say that with large volumes of photo space is not enough, and you need a memory card. Phone 2 GB of memory just can not keep the number of videos and photos that modern young people are used to doing.

A feature regarding the size of a new memory card

Probably, everyone who had previously encountered memory cards or flash drives, noticed that the seats on them are slightly smaller than stated by the manufacturer. Why is this problem and can it be fixed?

In fact, there is no problem. The reason lies in the principles of computing space by a computer or a phone. We are accustomed to multiplying all the values by a thousand, as, for example, in one kilogram, one thousand grams. However, in the computer world, the calculation is a bit different, and a number is considered to be a number in 1024. As a result, such an error arises on the missing 24 bytes to every thousand. Therefore, blaming the manufacturers for such a "shortage" is not worth it, and the SD memory card with the "stripped-down" memory is actually quite normal.

What is a memory card class?

All memory cards are divided not only by volume, but also by class. Therefore, when deciding how to choose a memory card for the phone, do not forget about this option. The class displays the speed of writing any information to it. There are cards of various classes, however the most popular in our stores are 4, 10 and U1.

In fact, everything is clear with digital classes - a quadruple is equal to the write speed to 4 MB / s, and a dozen - up to 10 MB / s, respectively. With the U1 class, it's a little more interesting, as manufacturers promise the speed is not up to, but from 10 MB / s, but what will be the maximum possible, it is necessary to check already on the spot. This class is considered a newer standard, and the SD memory card marked by it differs for the better from its predecessors.

In addition to the above, there are also digital classes SD Card 2 and 6, as well as a class of the new generation U3. Digital does not differ from its predecessors, that is, they correspond in the same way to the maximum recording speed. Class U3 is considered at the moment the highest and allows you to write information at speeds over 30 MB / s. But, despite the high level of smartphone development, so far none of them is needed so fast, so we will not consider it in detail.

What memory card class do I need?

Let's look at what a memory card of each class can be used for. This will be another step towards how to choose a memory card for the phone and not make a mistake.

• Memory cards of the 2nd class are designed for data storage and represent the slowest and cheapest option. They can record music and video files, while the process of recording will be quite lengthy. There may be problems viewing high-definition video.
• Memory cards of the 4th class are the most popular and widespread. Fully meet the high-speed requirements of budget phones and smartphones associated with multimedia files. Nevertheless, it is better not to use it for games and programs.
• Memory cards of the 6th class can already be a replacement for the internal memory of some electronic devices and are designed for recording and storing any types of files.
• Memory cards of the 10th class are the fastest type of cards, the maximum capabilities of which can be used by any smartphone. Allow you to record video in high resolution and perform other tasks that require high-speed recording of information.
• Memory cards of class U1 are an improved class 10, a slightly higher writing speed and a significantly faster reading, which can be used for program files, since downloading from them will be much faster.
• Memory cards of U3 class are used very rarely, since their characteristics are necessary only when recording video in 4K resolution, and the cost is very high.

What is the maximum memory card capacity supported by the device?

Often, most manufacturers themselves indicate the characteristics of the phone or smartphone, a memory card of what size is recommended to install in the gadget. However, sometimes this information is not indicated directly, but using the encoding of different types of maps. It is worth taking a look at the specification of the device and see which cards are supported. There may be written the following:

• The microSD card is an old standard, implying the installation of a micro-phone memory card with a maximum capacity of 4 GB. Sometimes some Chinese manufacturers write that with the same marking cards up to 8 GB are supported, but no more.
• MicroSDHC cards are the most common format today among budget phones and smartphones. Provides the possibility of expanding memory cards with a capacity of up to 32 GB, which is quite enough for most users.
• Cards microSDXC - a new format that allows you to work with volumes of up to 2 TB. Often cards of this size can have a very high cost, but quite popular, inexpensive, and with this functional solution will be the installation of additional memory in the volume of 64 or 128 GB.

How to determine the manufacturer

In fact, there is no particular difference between memory cards of different manufacturers. They are all sufficiently reliable, so the final weighty argument in choosing can be only a price or an attractive appearance. The speed of the card, as already discussed above, depends only on its class.

Sometimes on old devices there is a situation when the memory cards of the maximum for a gadget volume do not work from all manufacturers. With what it is connected, even the developers of this or that gadget can not answer. For example, a similar issue was discussed earlier in the forums - a regular memory card was bought, the ZTE did not see it at point-blank, although with other devices it worked without problems. Therefore, when buying a memory card, it's best to take with you the device for which it is intended. Thus, you can avoid unnecessary stress associated with the return of a non-approached accessory.

How to Install a Memory Card

How exactly and where to put the card itself, is often written in user instructions to the device. However, another important point is often missed there. Some devices read the data recorded on the card with the file system of one of the common formats without problems. However, after a long period of use, malfunctions may occur, which can lead to loss of important information.

To avoid this, it is recommended right after installation, while there is no data on the card, to format it directly by phone or smartphone. Do not be too lazy to do this operation, because afterwards it can protect you from unnecessary feelings. On this recommendation, how to choose a memory card for the phone, come to an end. We hope you will not have any problems when buying this accessory.