The amount of information required for work and entertainment is increasing every day. The quality of photographs and video files is increasing, and their “weight” is growing with it. As a result, the built-in memory of our gadgets, especially from the budget segment, is sorely lacking. This problem is easily solved, especially in phones with a removable battery. Why exactly in them, how to choose a memory card for a phone for any budget and many other issues will be discussed in this article.
Memory card. What is it?
As a rule, the 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 various gadgets, only one type of memory card is used - microSD, although there are a fairly large number of them.
Earlier, when mobile phones were just starting to acquire additional memory, each manufacturer tried to invent its own format, different from the others. For example, the LG phone’s memory card could not be installed in Nokia. Over time, this trend, as well as specific connectors for charging, gradually faded away. This has its own plus, because, having changed the smartphone, now it is not at all necessary to re-acquire this important accessory to it.
How much volume do I need?
When it comes to the required volume of an SD Card, you should first ask yourself what files you have to work with most often. In order to navigate at least a little, you can take a look at the following list showing the approximate size of the usual files:
- A melody or track - from 3 to 10 megabytes.
- Photography - from 1 to 5 megabytes.
- The film (depending on quality) from 700 megabytes to several gigabytes.
If you are used to using only high-quality content, you will have to think about memory cards from 32 GB or more. If the card is needed only for storing a small playlist and current photos, its volume can be easily calculated using the above information. We can definitely say that with large volumes a photo of the internal space is not enough, and a memory card is required. A phone with 2 GB of memory is simply not able to save the number of videos and photos that modern youth are used to doing.
Feature regarding the size of the new memory card
Probably everyone who has previously encountered memory cards or flash drives noticed that they have a little less space than stated by the manufacturer. Why does this problem arise and can it be fixed?
In fact, there is no problem. The reason lies in the principles of calculating space by computer or phone. We are used to multiplying all values ​​by a thousand, as, for example, in one kilogram a thousand grams. However, in the computer world, the calculation is a little different, and the unit is considered to be a number of 1024. As a result, such an error occurs on the missing 24 bytes to every thousand. Therefore, it is not worth blaming manufacturers for such a “shortage”, and an SD memory card with a “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 your phone, do not forget about this option. The class displays the speed of writing any information to it. There are cards of various classes, but the most popular in our stores are 4, 10 and U1.
In fact, everything is clear with digital classes - four equals write speeds of up to 4 MB / s, and a dozen equals 10 MB / s, respectively. With the U1 class, it’s a little more interesting, since manufacturers promise speed not up to, but from 10 MB / s, but what will be the maximum possible, you have to check 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 the class of the new generation U3. Digital are no different from their predecessors, that is, in the same way correspond to the maximum recording speed. The U3 class is currently considered the highest and allows you to write information at speeds above 30 MB / s. But, despite the high level of development of smartphones, such a high speed is not yet needed by any of them, so we will not consider it in detail.
What class of memory card do I need?
Let's see why a memory card of each class can be used. This will be another step towards how to choose a memory card for the phone and not make a mistake.
- Class 2 memory cards - designed to store data and are the slowest and cheapest option. You can record music and video files on them, while the recording process itself will be quite lengthy. You may experience problems watching high definition videos.
- Class 4 memory cards are the most popular and common. Fully meet the high-speed needs of budget phones and smartphones related to multimedia files. Nevertheless, it is better not to use it for games and programs.
- Class 6 memory cards can already be a replacement for the internal memory of some electronic devices and are designed to record and store any type of file.
- Class 10 memory cards are the fastest type of cards, the maximum capabilities of which can be used by any smartphones. They 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 write speed and significantly faster reading, as a result of which they can be used for program files, since downloading from them will be much faster.
- U3 class memory cards are used very rarely, since their characteristics are only needed 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 in the characteristics of the phone or smartphone what size memory card is recommended to be installed in the gadget. However, sometimes this information is not indicated directly, but using the encoding of different types of cards. It is worth taking a look at the specification of the device and see which cards are supported. The following may be written there:
- MicroSD cards are an old standard, which implies the installation of a micro-memory card for a phone with a capacity of not more than 4 GB. Sometimes some Chinese manufacturers write that cards with up to 8 GB are supported with the same marking, but no more.
- MicroSDHC cards are the most common format today among budget phones and smartphones. It provides for the possibility of expanding the memory with cards up to 32 GB, which is quite enough for most users.
- MicroSDXC cards - a new format that allows you to work with volumes up to 2 TB. Often cards of this size can have a very high cost, but it is quite popular, inexpensive, and at the same time, installing additional memory of 64 or 128 GB will be a functional solution.
How to choose a manufacturer
In fact, there is not much difference between memory cards from different manufacturers. They are all quite reliable, so the final weighty argument when choosing can only be the price or attractive appearance. The speed of the card, as discussed above, depends only on its class.
Sometimes, on older devices, a situation is observed when the memory cards of the maximum capacity for the gadget do not work from all manufacturers. What is the reason, even the developers of one or another gadget cannot answer. For example, a similar question was previously discussed on the forums - an ordinary memory card was bought, the ZTE phone did not see it point-blank, although it worked without problems with other devices. Therefore, when buying a memory card it is best to take with you the device for which it is intended. Thus, you can avoid unnecessary stress associated with returning an unsuitable accessory.
Memory Card Installation Instructions
How exactly and where to put the card itself is often written in user instructions for the device. However, another important point is often overlooked there. Some devices can read data written to a card with a file system of one of the common formats without any problems. But at the same time, after prolonged use, failures can begin, which can lead to the loss of important information.
To avoid this, it is recommended immediately after installation, while there is no data on the card, format it directly using the phone or smartphone. Do not be too lazy to do this operation, because subsequently it can protect against unnecessary experiences. On this recommendation, how to choose a memory card for the phone, come to an end. We hope you don’t have any problems when purchasing this accessory.