PNY 4GB microSDHC Card

With standard-size SD cards getting miniaturized into microSD cards, it’s no surprise that the storage capacities of microSD cards are getting bigger and bigger. The latest microSDHC card from PNY is the 4GB version that we have for review today. This latest 4GB offering from PNY is less than ¼ of the size of a regular SD card and ½ as thick. You can use the larger capacity provided by microSDHC cards to expand your cell phone or MP3 player with even more memory. Read on to hear our take on the PNY 4GB microSDHC card.

Design

The first important item is to explain how microSDHC cards and microSD cards differ. Essentially, microSDHC cards allow storage capacity of greater capacity than 2GB but do not provide any significant speed increase over microSD cards. Regular microSD cards use the FAT16 file system to store files, while microSDHC cards use the FAT32 file system to boost the range of memory addresses that can be accessed by the card.

The ‘HC’ part of the microSDHC naming convention stands for High Capacity. These cards are based on the SDA 2.0 specification, which has been introduced by the SD Card Association. This new SDA 2.0 specification enables SD cards to reach higher capacities - up to 32GB.

The PNY microSDHC card is otherwise exactly the same as any other microSD card. They are the same size and shape, and do not look any different to the naked eye. Increased storage capacity is the key differentiator for these microSDHC cards.

Features

• Class 4 (minimum 4MB/sec write speed)
• Also functions with Class 2 host devices
• Includes full size SD adapter for use in SDHC-compatible devices
• Includes Sony Promotion
• One-Year Warranty and free technical support

In the Box

• 4GB PNY microSDHC card
• Full size SD adapter
• User guide and promotional offering

Setup and Installation

The first step of testing was to get the microSDHC card installed in my Sansa Fuze MP3 player. This was extremely easy and was as simple as popping the card into the microSD slot in the Fuze. The card was immediately recognized when I turned on the Fuze and voila! – there was an additional 3.87GB of storage available. No additional steps were needed.

The same simple steps were used to copy some music over from my laptop onto the PNY microSDHC card. I used a all-in-one card ready and Windows immediately recognized the card after booting up the computer. No additional steps were necessary and it was just as easy as using a USB flash drive to copy files over to the card.

The only additional accessory that I would have liked to have seen is a USB adapter. I don’t have an all-in-one card reader for all of my computers, and it would be nice to be able to access the microSDHC card without one. A USB adapter also would have made it easy to copy files from one computer to another with the microSDHC card.

With adapter		Closeup

Performance

For testing the transfer speeds, I copied over about 500MB worth of MP3 music from my PC to the card. I then transferred the same amount of data back to my PC into another folder on the hard drive. Additionally, I used HD Tune 2.5.2 and HD Tach 3.0.1.0 to benchmark the performance results.

Testing showed that the Mobile Ultra microSDHC card offers more than adequate read and write data transfer speeds. Read speeds averaged 20MB/sec. and write speeds averaged 15MB/sec. This is significantly faster than a typical microSDHC card, and is even a bit faster than the Sandisk Mobile Ultra microSDHC card we reviewed previously in write speeds. With this card, you can expect a big jump in performance over a microSD card as well.

PNY 4GB microSDHC Card

Overall, the PNY 4GB microSDHC is a reliable and value-oriented media card. It can be found online for very reasonable prices in comparison to other competing microSDHC cards.

It offers good performance reading and writing data, although not as good as the Sandisk Mobile Ultra microSDHC card. The 1-year warranty is also nice to have in case the card fails for any reason. PNY has made memory related products for a number of years, though, and I have yet to experience any issues with any of their products. The only gripe I have is the lack of a USB adapter, which would have made this 4GB card even more versatile in how it could be used.

EDIT: PNY sent me an update and suggested that anyone interested in getting a USB adapter with their microSDHC card should take a look at their 4-in-1 Mobile Media Kit.

Pros: Great performance, includes SD adapter, 1-year warranty.

Cons: No USB adapter included.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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