CF driver finally

[omgitsroy326]

OMG... it actually came out.... not really out out but ... we're gettin close....

[YTTAN]

Hopefully it can support write soon and be sure support ultra CF card not to normal card only.

[Bo_]

I am getting ready practicing entereing my credit card number so I can purchase it fast when it comes out.

And I would not be too dissapointed if it also supports my IBM Microdrives...

But, if the CF card slot becomes the main storage space, then I need the MS WiFi stick. Soo...


Bo

www.bophoto.com/clie

[blueprints]

Originally posted by omgitsroy326
OMG... it actually came out.... not really out out but ... we're gettin close....

Mind telling us abit more abt it. u mentioned its actually came out, then not really out out..... so is it out or not??? really puzzled... but thanx for keeping us informed though. cheers

[YTTAN]

If you got bluetooth phone, you can actually no need to invest another MS bluetooth.

[cbulock]

Originally posted by blueprints


Mind telling us abit more abt it. u mentioned its actually came out, then not really out out..... so is it out or not??? really puzzled... but thanx for keeping us informed though. cheers

Theres a news article on the front page of ClieSource that gives more info.

[nz007]

new clie already has CF capabilities. I think the drivers will be usable from that model.

[OcellNuri]

Are you saying that you think the next NX will have built in CF Memory capability?

[nz007]

Originally posted by OcellNuri
Are you saying that you think the next NX will have built in CF Memory capability?

yes! maybe a new open strategy??? it may hurt MS sales a little i guess.


the NZ90 in Japan has limited capability and can support a GSM CF card adapter.

[Bo_]

But the Japanese NZ always have had more functionallity than the US one, I think one post mentioned that they also had some regular Modem CF cards it would work with in Japan.

Aside from that... Adding the storage functionality to the CF card slot would positively add to the apeal of the NZ and drive more sales... it would be a great choice for Sony.

Bo

www.bophoto.com/clie

[Rick 098]

Maybe sony will make cf cards then!
( I know I have an NX, but a hires+/cf slot/os5 clie should be quite the same. Thats why im in the NZ forum)

[YTTAN]

I left NX after 3 months of usage. If not, new model will be coming again.

[Med]

Can someone shed some light on the frenzy over CF slot functionality for nz90? i.e. why is everyone waiting for the CF driver to use the CF slot for CF memory cards....initially I thought maybe the CF memory cards are cheaper than the MS but comparing the 1 Gb MS Pro with a 1Gb CF card, there doesn't seem to be a significant enough difference (MS Pro more expensive) to warrant going gaga over.....

but other than the price is there anything else?

I await the reply............

[OcellNuri]

I see three reasons...

First.. there is quite a significant difference in the cost of a MSPro and CF card. 1gig CF can be had for $180, while MSPro is $640.

Also, dual expansion is very powerful. Being able to have two memory cards in your unit at once lets you have all sorts of functionality.

Third... many of us have CF cards laying around, and many digital cameras use CF. With the CF driver, that's less MS we have to buy.

[Med]

thanks for the clarification.....still learning.....but looking around, the cheapest 1Gb CF memory card I found was about $429 from IBM (Lexar Pro $569). $180 seems like an incredible bargain. Anyway here's the link for the prices I mentioned above:

http://www.photocreative.com/store/category.cfm?Category=3

[Bo_]

I have seen 1 gig cards at camera stores for about $350, about half of the price for a MS Pro at the same capasity.

Another issue is that many usere have the WiFi card, if you use it regularly or all the time. (smile) then the Memory Stick Pro is suddenly more interesting. Unless the expected WiFi Memory Stick turns out to be a great deal..!

Bo

www.bophoto.com/clie

[TheSpies]

Just checking mysimon.com for cf's shows a bunch under 300, cheapest was 233.69 at:

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=delcf1gb&SVBName=219

with more searching (i checked only one place) i could easily see finding them for 180.

[YTTAN]

The reason for the big diff in pricing for CF is good wuality and bad quality.

I just got the MS Pro 256mb(US$134) as I had heard from CF users that they had experienced loss their important images data from 'cheap' 1gb CF when using with Digi SLR cam before.

So it's better to get a decent establish branded Cf card in case you are the next victim for that.

[YTTAN]

I will wait for driver before I get from APacer CF card. (maybe 512mb-SGD$268=US$150)

[Dexion]

You guys also fail to mention that CF cards are faster!
Looking at the transfer speeds of the quicker CF media like Ritek Ridata, IBM microdrive, and Pretec are above 4000KB/s Read and 2000 KB/s write. Add that with an USB 2.0 reader/writer.

Look here for CF speeds:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/mediacompare/

I tried to compare to Memory Stick speeds, but all are theoretical speeds and not actual benchmarks. Anyone have benches? Technically speaking, CF's have been around longer than MS has, and the amount of different developers contribute to the technology. Given that CF is still the medium of choice for digital camera professionals, I won't be surprised if CF would be double/triple the speeds of MS.

[Dexion]

Benchmarks

I just did some benchmarks on the CF cards and MemoryStick I have with Sisoft Sandra 2002 Pro.

I own 2 CF cards, both Sandisk(which are crap), 64mb and 128mb.
I also own a Lexar 128mb Memory Stick


The 64mb Sandisk CF did 761KB/s
The 128mb Lexar MS did 702KB/s

Of course this doesn't prove anything at this moment. Both are slow, the Memory stick is going through my Sony Clie with MS Export. As well, I don't know how well Lexar's stack up against MS & MSPro sticks. Sandisk is also going through a USB 1.0 reader. So none of this is relevant at this point.

I would need to grab a USB 2.0(i have a USB 2.0 mobo) 6-in-1 reader with CF and MS support for a more accurate comparision. As well, I'm also purchasing a Ridata 512mb CF card, so that would be a good idea how fast it is compared to MS.

[jedix]

Amazon has a 1 gb cf card (Viking) for $184.99 after mail in rebate.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000083DY0/qid%3D1050550063/sr%3D1-30/104-2492220-0218340

[greg elmassian]

YTTAN, did you buy your MS PRO yet? Someone made a good point that if the 1 gig ms gets a bit cheaper, and you use a wlan card, it might be worth it to have a one gig ms ..

Greg

[Bo_]

Just for the reference.....

I do not belive that the real issue with speed on the Clie are going to be the card, simply because the OS and the processor just are not as fast as a ultra fast CF...

Bo

www.bophoto.com/clie

[greg elmassian]

but I'll bet the CF speed is higher than the normal ms, and might beat the pro

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by greg elmassian
but I'll bet the CF speed is higher than the normal ms, and might beat the pro

I for one won't bet against you :)!

[hansschmucker]

Amazon.de :

SanDisk CompactFlash Typ I Speicherkarte 1,0 GB von SanDisk GmbH
Zubehör
Preis: EUR 299,00
oder neu: EUR 290,00
oder erneuert: EUR 267,00


Sony MSX1G Memory Stick Pro 1GB
Sony Deutschland GmbH

Preis: EUR 720,00


290 to 720??? Sounds like quite a difference to me!

[YTTAN]

greg elmassian, Bo_,

I just got the 256mb Ms Pro on last Thursday. It's reading speed is faster than normal Ms by 60% but it's writing speed is slower by 10%(???)Funny huh?

I just got DSC F717 too. I test it with MS Pro + MS import. The Ms Pro actually work faster in native device at least 2-3 times than MS when I transfer the same data to PC.

For CF ultra, I don't have it as I got no device which compatible or able to use it yet. Will appreciate if Dexion can give us the comparison with MS or MSPRO with CF or CF Ultra.

But I was recommend to get Apacer Pro by the CF seller as he showed me the report that the Apacer Pro CF is faster than sandisk Ultra CF.

[greg elmassian]

yttan, i asked in another post, your testing of actual speed in an app... I did rung mapopolis today, 1st time with pro, boy is it a lot faster to load a 2 or 3 meg map! I am a happy guy!

Greg

[n2ifp]

Originally posted by YTTAN
greg elmassian, Bo_,

I just got the 256mb Ms Pro on last Thursday. It's reading speed is faster than normal Ms by 60% but it's writing speed is slower by 10%(???)Funny huh?

I just got DSC F717 too. I test it with MS Pro + MS import. The Ms Pro actually work faster in native device at least 2-3 times than MS when I transfer the same data to PC.

For CF ultra, I don't have it as I got no device which compatible or able to use it yet. Will appreciate if Dexion can give us the comparison with MS or MSPRO with CF or CF Ultra.

But I was recommend to get Apacer Pro by the CF seller as he showed me the report that the Apacer Pro CF is faster than sandisk Ultra CF.

Isn't the DSCF 717 also USB2 ?

 

[greg elmassian]

Is the DSCF 717 a camera? BTW, all the MS PRO USB readers are USB 2.0

Greg

[n2ifp]

Yes, I have the DSC 707 camera, but it's only USB1.1.

A regular MS in a USB2 reader isn't any faster that I can tell, as the limitation is in the MS itself.

[greg elmassian]

Right, old USB is probably ok, but the SanDisk one for the MS PRO is 2.0 (MS and MS PRO only) ... many companies are coming out with 2.0 multi-readers, right now mostly for the fast CF's...

Greg

[YTTAN]

Yes, it is a 5mega Pixel Digital camera with USB 2.0.
There is a bit different in speed between USB 1.1(0.8mb/sec) and 2.0 (1.2mb/sec) which stated in the spec.

[YTTAN]

But I need to admit that my PC is only support usb 1.1. So I don't think the USB help to increase the MS Pro speed in DSC F717.

[Dexion]

But I was recommend to get Apacer Pro by the CF seller as he showed me the report that the Apacer Pro CF is faster than sandisk Ultra CF.

To my understanding, comparing to Sandisk Ultra isn't a good reference to performance. I've seen much cheaper alternatives CF brands at the same size that perform faster than Sandisk's Ultra. I truly believe that it's a marketing scheme. Look at the benches I provided abobe, it's dismal, and at those prices you could get 2 Viking 1GBs

[n2ifp]

Performance can vary from card to card too.

I agree that the Ultra is more of a marketing scheme.

[greg elmassian]

Guys, USB 2.0 is capable of much higher speeds... you should check the standard...

Here's a clip from Adaptec's site:

USB 2.0 is the fastest USB standard yet released, supporting data speeds up to 480 megabits per second (Mbps). That's 40 times faster than USB 1.1! With Adaptec's USB 2.0 products, you can connect external storage, digital cameras, webcams, and other high-speed devices, all with USB's legendary hot-plug-and-play simplicity.

Since I'm in the "business" I will tell you most 2.0 devices are designed with a top speed of 12 megabits per second, not the higest rate... but 480 megabyts/second, or approximately 48 megabytes/second is the top speed of the 2.0 standard

Greg

[YTTAN]

I did saw other CF cards in that report too. It's just that I can only remember sandisk due to it is the most establish brand for memory cards in Singapore. That report show a benchmark as well - Apacer got the fastest speed of all. Unless the report is just like some advertise hidden gimmick, then I got nothing to say.

[Dexion]

got the fastest speed of all. Unless the report is just like some advertise hidden gimmick, then I got nothing to say.

Well its not really a gimmick, its more as the "maximum" thorough put of the CF, it might not be reflective to real world performance.

Now from the specs of the Apacer Photo Steno Pro it does seem very nice at 5mb/s read and 4mb/sec write. Now most of the competition is mostly at 4 and 2 respectively. I'm just a little skeptical of the actual performance of the card and how it would compare to a Ridata which was the last performance crown.

[YTTAN]

Well, in one hour times, I will go to that shop and check it out.