Each new smartphone model that hits the market comes with increased storage capacity. This is essential for storing large amounts of data or running multiple apps. In addition, many phones offer external storage options. Users can use a microSD or TF card to expand their memory.
TF (short for TransFlash ) is a name that's not very familiar to memory card users. However, almost all of us use them or have used them at some point. We explain everything here.
What is a TF card?
TransFlash was the original name for micro Secure Digital (SD) cards . These cards were launched by SanDisk in 2004. The creation of the TF card was a major milestone. It was presented as the smallest memory card of all time (about the size of a fingernail!) and its main purpose was to store data digitally.
Micro SD and TF cards can be used in different types of devices, from smartphones and digital cameras to computers. In them you can store various information such as audios, videos or images.
In other words, TF Card was the initial name of the invention, although the SanDisk Company product that would later be marketed is the micro SD card. Updating and improving products is something all companies and manufacturers do. Among these improvements are also name changes, generally for marketing and sales reasons. And that is precisely what happened with the name change of TransFlash. A change that was definitively implemented in 2005.
Differences between TF card and SD card
If we accept that the TF card and the SD card are actually two different names for the same thing, there would be no room to make any kind of difference between them. However, there are some distinctive aspects when comparing a current card with an "old" TF card:
Name
The name SD card, short for Secure Digital memory card, comes from the Chinese phrase "secure digital card." The decision to rename TF (T-Flash) cards as MicroSD was actually an initiative of the SDA (Secure Digital Association). This association was founded in 2000 and has a significant presence of Chinese companies.
Storage capacity
The SD card is a new generation of memory device based on semiconductor flash memory. Instead, when we talk about a TF card, we are referring to a very small flash memory (the one before 2005).
As a result, the storage capacity is different for each type of card. The capacities in which we can find each of them are these:
- TF card: 128G, 64G, 32G, 16G, 8G, 6G, 4G, 2G, 1G, 512M, 256M and 128M.
- SD card: 512G, 128G, 64G, 32G, 16G, 8G, 6G, 4G, 2G, 1G, 512M, 256M and 128M.
Origin
The first SD cards were jointly developed by Panasonic, Toshiba and SanDisk in August 1999. On the other hand, the latest generation of TF cards appeared in 2004 from Motorola and SanDisk. It was the last with this name.
Size and appearance
If we compare a TF card from fifteen years ago with a current SD card, the first thing we notice is their different sizes . The dimensions of an SD card are 24 mm x 32 mm x 2,1 mm. In contrast, those of a TF card are 15 mm x 11 mm x 1 mm.
Differences in size and appearance between the two types of memory card
In addition, they are also different from an aesthetic point of view. For example, if we look closely we can see that the small metal sheets on the back are also distributed in a different way on each type of card.
Security
The SD card has a write protection system (called a lock switch) that does not exist in the TF card. There are, however, some methods to overcome this deficiency, such as using a sizing adapter.
Use
Normally, the SD card is used in mobile phones in order to increase the storage capacity. Thanks to its smaller physical volume and increasingly large storage space, it is also a very popular choice on some GPT devices, portable music players, and other flash drives.
Being larger than SD cards, the TransFlash option is still the most common in a large number of portable digital devices, such as digital cameras, DSLRs, portable game consoles, etc.
Price
Finally, even belonging to the same brand and with the same storage capacities, the price of the SD card will always be significantly higher than that of the TF card.
Despite all these differences, the function of these cards is the same, and they can be used in the same devices. However, in many newer phone models, the space allocated for external memory is only compatible with SD cards. Fortunately, it's possible to convert a TF card into an SD card , but not vice versa.
Buy a TF card
The microSD card is a small flash memory card, which can hold up to 32 GB of storage capacity as a microSDHC and currently up to 2 TB as a microSDXC . It is commonly used in almost all models of smartphones, cameras, camcorders, tablets, and many other devices. Furthermore, even the configurable memory cards used in older video game consoles, which allow you to download homebrew games from the internet, use a microSD card for storage. For example, they can be found in consoles like the Nintendo GameCube.
Indeed, one might think that TF cards are a thing of the past and microSD cards the future. But that's not exactly the case. As we've seen before, certain types of devices require TF cards. How do you choose the best one? Here are some practical tips:
- Only buy cards from recognized brands and that they provide correct customer service: SanDisk, Toshiba, Kingston, Samsung, Lexar, Transcend, Sony, etc.
- Look at the numbering from 1 to 10 that marks the Speed ​​Class. The higher it is, the better the performance.