HOW TO ADD STORAGE TO YOUR FAVORITE ELECTRONIC GADGET WITHOUT GETTING RIPPED OFF

The secret to finding the flash cards and readers that are right for you!

THE TOP 5 SIGNS THAT YOU NEED FLASH MEMORY — NOW!

1. You just bought a new digital camera. Most cameras come with a very small flash card, typically only 16MB or 32MB. But on a 4 megapixel camera, 16MB holds fewer than 10 pictures. If you want to take more than a couple of pictures at a time, you will definitely need a larger card or several small cards.
2. You're planning a trip. Taking a digital camera on your next vacation? Carrying a PDA on your next business trip? In some areas, it can be very difficult — not to mention expensive — to buy additional flash cards, so make sure you stock up before you go. Also, if you plan to take a lot of pictures, you might want to take several cards. That way, if you lose one card, you won't lose all the pictures from your entire trip. By the way, flash cards aren't affected by X-rays, so taking them through airport security is no problem.
3. You're expecting a new addition to your family. Weddings, births, adoptions, new pets — you can be sure you'll be taking lots of pictures with your digital camera to commemorate the occasion. Bring along an extra flash card, just in case. After all, you don't want to miss the perfect shot of Great Uncle Louie doing the chicken dance because you ran out of room on your flash card.
4. You've become addicted to your handheld. Are you one of those people who wish your PDA could be permanently attached to your hand so you would never have to put it down? A lot of people find that once they start using a handheld, they keep using it to do more and more. Removable flash cards are a great way to expand the storage capacity of your handheld and an easy way to transfer files from your handheld to your desktop or notebook.
5. You own a sophisticated mobile phone. Today mobile phones are cameras, MP3 players, and PDAs all rolled into one. They even make phone calls! These handy, all-in-one gadgets are gaining in popularity, and if you have one, you probably need a small-form-factor memory card. After all, what good are all the extra features if you don't have any room to store your music, pictures, or calendar?

THE 6 MOST COMMON MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUYING FLASH CARDS.

1. Buying what's on the rack next to the checkout counter. When stores have a particular card that isn't selling well, they often move it to the "impulse buy" rack. Unfortunately, these cards might be an unpopular size, an unusual type, or a more expensive brand. Plus, prices at retail outlets can be significantly higher than from a direct seller like Crucial. To avoid getting burned, do your homework before you buy. That means researching the type of card you need, selecting a reputable vendor, and finding the best price.
2. Choosing the wrong type of card. CompactFlash™, Secure Digital™, miniSD™, Memory Stick® PRO DUO™ cards — they're all pretty much the same, aren't they? Actually they're not the same — they're not even all compatible. Subtle differences in manufacturing, such as voltage changes, might mean a card that works in one phone won't work in another. Since one little-bitty card can look a lot like another, we recommend you double-check to make you're buying the right thing. One easy way to make sure is with the Crucial Flash Memory Advisor™ tool. Simply select your device make and model, and our selector tool will find a guaranteed-compatible card in just three clicks. We've taken into consideration the subtle internal differences in flash cards, so you don't have to.
3. Buying a card that's too small. The size of the card you should buy is largely a matter of personal preference. Some people like to use lots of smaller cards; other people like one large card that can hold hundreds of pictures. Either way, make sure you have big enough cards to handle the number of pictures you plan to take. If you've owned a digital camera in the past and are upgrading to one of the newer models, you might be surprised at how few pictures you can fit on a card with your new camera. That's because as photo resolution improves, file sizes become larger, taking up more room on your card. In general, the newer and fancier your camera is, the bigger the cards you should buy. (For advice on how many pictures will fit on a card, see the next section.)
4. Paying for a high-speed rating that you don't need. Your camera can utilize high-speed flash only if it's designed to. Most device manuals don't tell you what speed of flash card you should buy, just that you should buy their brand, which isn't much help. But here's a general rule of thumb: if your camera has a pixel count (resolution) of less than five megapixels, you can safely buy "normal" speed cards rated at 40X. The improvement you're likely to see in a higher-rated card will be minimal. But if you have a five-megapixel or higher camera, chances are good that it is capable of utilizing the high-speed interface, and you might benefit from purchasing high-speed cards. (See the speed ratings section that follows for more information.)
5. Picking the cheapest card. You wouldn't want to lose that prized photo from your digital camera or critical information stored on your PDA, would you? Buy your cards from a reputable dealer that stands behind its products with a lifetime warranty and accessible support. While flash cards are extremely durable and less likely to fail than most other digital products, it's best to buy from someone you trust, just in case.
6. Forgetting to format. To ensure that your flash card has the right file formatting for your electronic device, we recommend that you format any flash card in the device you are actually going to use it in prior to loading data onto it. In addition, we suggest re-formatting on a regular basis. Without proper formatting, you run the risk of file corruption or worse yet, total loss of data. Your device's owner manual should contain formatting or initialization instructions.