Compact Flash (CF) is a memory card. A memory card, as you may know, is a generic name for a mass storage unit widely used in electronic gadgets and devices. Flash memory is an electronic chip that can be electrically erased and rewritten. Due to this advantage, compact flash is extensively used in a variety of devices. Compact Flash Memory Card is the most popular among the earliest card formats developed. Some of the other popular formats are Miniature Card, Smart Media and PC Card Type 1. While Compact flash memory card had taken a lead over these, it faced stiff competition from later formats like MMC/CD, Memory Stick and xD-Picture Card. Many of these later formats combined the advantage of smaller size for an equivalent capacity and speed. Cards like P2 and SxS used in professional devices are larger in size faster and consequently more expensive. These may not be comparable with Compact flash cards.
Compact Flash memory card was first developed and produced by SanDisk in 1994. Other companies like Sony, Canon etc. have subsequently started using this replacing the other types used by them. For example, in 2008, Sony started using compact flash memory card in its tapeless video recorder, replacing the Memory stick cards which had smaller storage capacities and the SxS cards which were more expensive.Canon did likewise in 2010 by opting for compact flash memory cards for its high definition video recorders.
The credit for creating the next generation compact flash memory cards should go to Sandisk, Sony and Nikon who formed the Compact Flash Association in 2010 and proposed the format for the next generation card. These cards would have capacities exceeding 2 TiB and read 500 Mefabytes per second.
Some Features of Compact Flash Memory Cards:
v Compact Flash Cards come in two types. Type I with thickness of 3.3 mm and Type Ii with thickness of 5 mm. The thickness will be determined by the preceding PC Card.
v CF cards come in 4 speeds.
v CF cards were initially built on Intel NOR-based memory. Subsequently, these cards have adapted to NAND technology.
v CF cards can be used directly in a PC Card slot with a plug adapter. They can also be used as a storage device with a passive adapter or with a reader, or attached to other types of ports like USB.
Major advantages of Compact Flash Memory Cards:
ü They are more rugged than other card formats because they are solid state. They are also thicker and hence less vulnerable to breakage and similar damages.
ü They are removable. It is also very easy to insert and remove them.
ü Since Compact Flash Memory Cards do not have cryptographic features, they are not subject to restrictive licensing agreements.
ü Due to their higher maximum capacity, compact flash cards can be used with modern multi-gigabyte memories unlike other formats like Secure Digital, which had to migrate.
Some Disadvantages:
· Compact flash memory cards do not have the write protection feature available with other such cards.
· Because of their larger size, their use in miniature devices like point and shoot cameras can be limited.
