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[VresiBerba]

I have begun to find interest in these backup units and was just about to purchase a 256Gbit unit when I found out about the supercard. Though it took some time, I soon found out that the CF version leaves the CF card halfway outside the unit (and thus the game), which kind of turned me off, although the Supercard itself seemed to have normal cartridge dimensions. I then found out that there was an SD version of the Supercard, so perhaps it would look better. But alas, instead of the card itself, the whole unit was outside instead.

I can't help to wonder why on earth the manufactor of Supercard thought of making both a CF AND a SD version, when neither have an advantage over the other. They have roughly the same capabilities regarding speed and price, so why was RS-MM and Mini-SD overlooked if making two different versions were so important? I know both these smaller formats are considerably slower, RS-MM in particular, but Mini-SD would both have fitted into a standard Gameboy Advance cartridge as well as providing sufficient speed. Can anyone shed some light on this?

From left to right: GBA cartridge / CF card / SD card / RS-MM card / Mini-SD card

[sneef]

CF and SD are much more common all around the world than rs-mmc and mini-SD.  Many people already own one or several of these memory cards, for use in cameras or mp3 players.  Supercard is a 'budget' device, and the market it was aimed at is a 'budget' market.  It makes a lot more sense to choose the most common storage media over the most compact, when you take this into account.   SD and CF cards are cheap and prevalent

[edit] OH, and to answer why they made both... I suppose to sell more units!  People like me have SD cards from our PDA's and mp3 players, and I was hesitating to buy a CF card just for the supercard.. so when the SD version came out, I was instantly sold.  I suppose this is why they have both versions.  Again, the idea is that people have these storage media already, and the supercard supports that.  This is part of the marketing. [/edit]

[VresiBerba]

Okay, I might be a bit daft here since the last storage device I bought (except of course hard drives and CD-writers), was the 1.44MB floppy that came with my first PC back in '92. I still have the very same unit physically present in my PC-case, though not mounted.

I don't have a digital camera which use memory cards, in fact, I don't have any such devices whatsoever. But looking at my hardware store around my corner (a good friend of mine works there), I find the following items (in my own currency, and converted to the current USD);

Code Select Expand

Make      model        type      size   price   USD

TwinMOS   UltraX140X   CF        512    360     46
TwinMOS   UltraX150X   SD        512    360     46
TwinMOS   -            RS-MM     512    331     42
TwinMOS   -            Mini-SD   512    348     44

Even though these prices may turn some of you off, this is normal for where I live, and the 512 CF card is equivalent to roughly five pizzas. This is in my opinion far within from what normal people could afford, let alone really poor ones, especially since the RS-MM and Mini-SD are both in fact cheaper.

I still don't get it, are five pizzas to store 30 ROM's somehow expensive and outside the market of the Supercard???

[Koji]

The super card SD doesn't stick out very far from the unit... whoever told you the whole thing sticks out is lying out his ass, it's about 1cm out of the slot and doesn't hinder you being able to put it in your pocket or anything.

Also, the supercard has a maximum theoretical storage of 2GB (or 16gbit) where as your 256mbit will only EVER be able to store a maximum of 256mbit. ^_^ 16gbit sounds better then 256mbit... I'll take my centimeter sticking out for 64 times the storage.

[754boy]

The super card SD doesn't stick out very far from the unit... whoever told you the whole thing sticks out is lying out his ass, it's about 1cm out of the slot and doesn't hinder you being able to put it in your pocket or anything.

If you wanna see something that sticks out....take a look at the M3....now that baby STICKS OUT  :lol:

[VresiBerba]

The super card SD doesn't stick out very far from the unit... whoever told you the whole thing sticks out is lying out his ass, it's about 1cm out of the slot and doesn't hinder you being able to put it in your pocket or anything.

Oh, I'm not concerned very much about my pockets, I am however concerned about aesthetics. I wasn't lied to, I only found out about this earlier today, and had to search a bit, a fair bit mind you, of exactly how the Supercard works. The CF-version made my exhilaration dim a bit, until I found the SD-version, which fuelled my interest again, until I found out that it too was sticking out.

I'm not complaining or anything, I'm just somewhat perplexed why they choose two formats (CF and SD) which neither of them offer any kind of advantage over the other whatsoever, instead of making the "other" a tad bit smaller, better or whatever, which actually would attract the core group of buyers even more. And don't tell me you can't afford a Mini-SD format over a normal SD format, since the price-tag for a 512MB is equal. And it's less than a third of a decent pair of Diesel jeans here in Sweden. I suppose a hardcore Game'boyer can handle that expanse. I sure as hell can - may the PDA and camera cards rest in hell

But I can't - choose my poison; bad or worse, which jinx and ruins the aesthetic appearance of, for example my GBA-SP; small, neat, holds all my favourite games... and has a huge pustule to boot!



Despite the drawbacks (in my opinion), I will order the Supercard today. It seems to be a fantastic product  :!:

[Koji]

You are worried about a centimeter of plastic sticking out of the bottom of your DS?

I just really don't understand people being that worried about the appearance of their DS, it's not like it's disfiguring (like in the way, say, the super pass is) most people don't even notice. If anyone asks, just tell them it's a third party rumble pack for the ds.

[VresiBerba]

You are worried about a centimeter of plastic sticking out of the bottom of your DS?

Yes I am, perhaps not "worried" per se, but annoyed. The SP is for me and for me alone, so my "worry" is my own; and it doesn't look right with the Supercard sticking out. Sorry, but that's the way I am; a bit of a minimalist and a perfectionist in one package. Quite an annoying combination itself, I might add... :oops:

[Koji]

You are worried about a centimeter of plastic sticking out of the bottom of your DS?

Yes I am, perhaps not "worried" per se, but annoyed. The SP is for me and for me alone, so my "worry" is my own; and it doesn't look right with the Supercard sticking out. Sorry, but that's the way I am; a bit of a minimalist and a perfectionist in one package. Quite an annoying combination itself, I might add... :oops:

-pat pat- I guess I can understand. I'm just lucky I'm not that way I guess ^_^

The simple face is though, it's not the media that causes the "large" super card size. It's actually most of the other hardware that takes up room. Smaller parts mean more expensive.

[VresiBerba]

-pat pat- I guess I can understand. I'm just lucky I'm not that way I guess ^_^

You should take a look at my Game & Watch cabinet then; one single scratch on a game and it goes to the archives (where Kansas goes bye-bye) No, aesthetics is, at least for me, 60% of the whole package. Imagining that blob sticking out from the bottom of my SP gives me the creeps (sacrilege!?), but I suppose I have to adapt.

Still, Why did they not make one "general" product, whatever format of CF and SD would do, and one other... something different. I mean, If your digital camera holds a CF 16MB-card, so what, would you really use it on your GBA? You can get a 16MB SD card on E-Bay for a few dollars to replace it, but hold on, isn't this somewhat obsolete considering the prices of memory cards these days?

I still don't get it, and I don't buy the "PDA or camera" excuse.

[m2pt5]

CF was chosen because it's cheapest and most common.

SD was chosen because it's next cheapest and next most common.

That's all. No fancy underlying purpose, just going for the most common forms of the media.

[VresiBerba]

That's all. No fancy underlying purpose, just going for the most common forms of the media.

I could understand the situation if Wilson and Easton were making two similar baseball-bats for the same purpose, it would only be natural; competition. But why would Easton make two similar bats but with different paint job? To compete with themselves?

A poor analogy perhaps, but the difference between CF and SD is negligible, if any in this context; Both have the same speed, both are common, both are cheap, neither fit into a GBA standard cartridge. Then why spend resources and effort to develop something already developed, but with a different label? Why not work to remove some of the drawbacks of the original product instead of remaking the old one, making a clone.

That's a new concept; cloning your own work :?

[Himura]

There is little difference, it's just the fact that people have BOTH. I bought the CF because I already had a 1gb CF card from a camera. I didn't use it so much, so I stuck in in the SC. And bought a cheap one for the camera. If I had an SD card, I would have gotten the SD version simple.

[bubble2k]

I'm no business person, but it's increasing market share I guess by catering to users who already own existing SDs or CFs. For people who own neither, they will just have to choose between SD (more exp) and CF (more cumbersome).

It's like how Reebok sells two t-shirts of the same design with different colors, or Nokia sells n-Gage with two colors, or perhaps the easiest to relate to: Nintendo sells GBA SP and GBA Micro. The consumers can just choose what they like.

The cost for development of the SD version I assume if amortized over the profit from the number of units sold would be insignificant. Support and maintenance costs to develop new firmwares for both versions are increased though... but it's not like they have to employ call centre operators to handle phone calls 24/7. I assume that they expect an increase in revenue from the increased sales, so the additional cost can be easily covered.

[VresiBerba]

There is little difference, it's just the fact that people have BOTH.

But how does people having both systems motivate a company to please YOU twofold? Theocratically, half of you guys should already be pleased with only one of them, and if not, you could go and cut an arm off and buy a new card. Unless you live under a bridge, eat gravel for breakfast and can't afford a card which roams 30 ROM's for 40 bucks.