Is beauty more than skin deep for Samsung SD cards?
posted Monday, February 20, 2012 at 7:35 PM EST
You've doubtless heard that old adage, "true beauty lies within". So, it would seem, has consumer electronics giant Samsung. It's apparently taken the saying to heart, introducing a new series of flash cards to the US market that court the fashion-conscious.
First offered in Asia back in late 2009, followed by a European launch last year, Samsung's SD and microSD cards are billed as "beautiful", and having been "styled with a brushed metal design". The company isn't clear about whether this implies an entirely metal casing, or simply use of metal panels, coatings, or appliqués of some kind, but there's certainly no denying that they're more handsome than the typical flash card.
That may be an important differentiator for the image-conscious, but for the typical photographer, there are rather more important metrics for choosing a flash card. Reliability and durability, speed, and price all spring immediately to mind.
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Samsung's Plus Extreme Speed Series (left) and High Speed Series (right) MicroSD cards, in their highest-available capacities. Photos provided by Samsung Electronics America, Inc. |
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Samsung is certainly emphasizing the former: its SD and MicroSD cards are billed as "waterproof, shockproof, and magnet proof". The claims for the company's new flash card line read impressively: 24-hour water resistance (even in sea water), as well as the ability to withstand a crushing weight of 3,200 pounds, and a magnetic field up to 10,000 gauss. That last is obviously not a unit with which the average person will be familiar, but by way of comparison, the World Health Organization reports that a typical airport metal detector emits the equivalent of just one gauss. Of course, there's no basis for comparison given to competing cards, so we can't say to what degree this is exceptional. (We occasionally hear stories of regular flash cards having survived lengthy periods immersed in sea water, or in other similarly extreme environments.) It's certainly unusual that the cards are guaranteed to meet these standards, however.
Read and write performance is less spectacular. Samsung rates its cards as capable of 24MB/second read, and either 13MB or 21MB/second write, depending on the series. By comparison, companies such as Lexar and SanDisk offer competing cards with read speeds up to 95MB/second, and write speeds reaching 90MB/second. Those cards are a lot more expensive, however, perhaps explaining Samsung's best-in-class speed claim for its cards.
Pricing for Samsung's new cards varies from $10 to $90 for High Speed-series SD and MicroSD types, in capacities from 2 to 32GB. For Plus Extreme Speed-series cards, pricing is $30 for 8GB, or $55 for 16GB in either form-factor. Samsung's new flash cards are available immediately in the US market.
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Samsung's Plus Extreme Speed Series (left) and High Speed Series (right) SD cards, in their highest-available capacities. Photos provided by Samsung Electronics America, Inc. |
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Press Release
Samsung Introduces Stylish Branded Memory Cards
Complete Line of SD and MicroSD Cards Available up to Class 10, 32 GB Models
RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., February 17, 2012 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, announced today that it is now shipping a new line of advanced SD and microSD cards that are ideal for digital imaging and mobile devices. The seven new models of SD and microSD cards are now available as part of either the High Speed Series or the Plus Extreme Speed Series, both of which deliver up to 24MB/sec read speeds on cards with a capacity of 4GB or higher.
Styled with a brushed metal design, Samsung’s beautiful new line of SD and microSD cards are built with “Best-in-Class” performance. Able to meet the growing demand for high speed and high capacity memory in modern devices, the new cards are ideal for today’s digital cameras, camcorders, smartphones and tablets. With (up to) 24MB/sec OR (max) read speeds, users can transfer 1GB of images in as little as 42 seconds. In order to ensure their reliability, Samsung has designed both lines of memory products to be waterproof, shockproof, and magnet proof, allowing them to withstand some of the harshest conditions. All models are guaranteed to survive up to 24 hours in water, withstand the force of a 1.6 ton vehicle (3,200 lbs), and resist up to 10,000 gauss (slightly less than the power of a medical imaging magnet).
“It is our goal at Samsung to deliver superior performance, reliability and a stylish design across all of our product lines, including our memory line,” explained Reid Sullivan, Senior Vice President, Samsung Electronics America. “Utilizing our 19 years of experience in memory manufacturing, we’ve built both lines of SD and microSD cards for performance. With read speeds of up to 24 MB/sec and max write speeds of 13 MB/sec (High Speed Line) and 21 MB/sec (Plus Extreme Speed Line), as well as meeting our ‘3-proof’ reliability standard, these cards represent the ultimate in digital imaging and mobile computing storage. As the #1 memory supplier in the world and manufacturer of so many high performance portable devices, we are committed to ensuring consumers realize the best possible experience with those devices.”
High Speed Series – Specifications
SD Card
| MODEL NAME |
CAPACITY*
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SPEED CLASS
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READ SPEED
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WRITE SPEED
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MSRP
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MB-SS2GA
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2 GB
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--
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Max 15MB/s
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Max 7MB/s
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$9.99
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MB-SS4GA
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4 GB
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Class 4
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 7MB/s
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$14.99
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MB-SS8GA
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8 GB
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Class 6
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 13MB/s
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$24.99
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MB-SSAGA
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16 GB
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Class 6
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 13MB/s
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$44.99
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MB-SSBGA
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32 GB
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Class 10
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 13MB/s
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$89.99
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microSD Card
| MODEL NAME |
CAPACITY*
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SPEED CLASS
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READ SPEED
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WRITE SPEED
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MSRP
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MB-MS2GA
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2 GB
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--
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Max 15MB/s
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Max 7MB/s
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$9.99
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MB-MS4GA
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4 GB
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Class 4
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 7MB/s
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$14.99
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MB-MS8GA
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8 GB
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Class 6
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 13MB/s
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$24.99
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MB-MSAGA
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16 GB
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Class 6
|
Max 24MB/s
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Max 13MB/s
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$44.99
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MB-MSBGA
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32 GB
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Class 10
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 13MB/s
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$89.99
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Plus Extreme Speed Series – Specifications
SD Card
| MODEL NAME |
CAPACITY*
|
SPEED CLASS
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READ SPEED
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WRITE SPEED
|
MSRP
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MB-SP8GA
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8 GB
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Class 10
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 21MB/s
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$29.99
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MB-SPAGA
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16 GB
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Class 10
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 21MB/s
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$54.99
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microSD Card
| MODEL NAME |
CAPACITY*
|
SPEED CLASS
|
READ SPEED
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WRITE SPEED
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MSRP
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MB-MP8GA
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8 GB
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Class 10
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 21MB/s
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$29.99
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MB-MPAGA
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16 GB
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Class 10
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Max 24MB/s
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Max 21MB/s
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$54.99
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*Accessible capacity varies; MB = 1 million bytes, GB = 1 billion bytes.
About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., markets a broad range of award-winning, digital consumer electronics and home appliance products, including HDTVs, home theater systems, MP3 players, digital imaging products, refrigerators and washing machines. A recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology, Samsung is the HDTV market leader in the U.S. Please visit www.samsung.com for more information.
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Samsung and the stylized Samsung design are trademarks and service marks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.