Re: Reliability of off-brand memory cards

Dan wrote:
It is possible that because nobody heard of PQI (me including) it cannot
put a mark up on the price that others carry with that name (Lexar,
Sandisk etc). For all we know they are made on the same factory and the
only difference is the plastic they use. I clearly remember when Lexar
had a spell of bad luck when they fat fingered a whole series of cards
and nobody wanted to touch them with a barge pole.

The problem is that brand name doesn't always equate to the actual
manufacturer. In many ways, basic flash memory cards are a
commodity item. Resellers can simply take bids and decide who
they want to purchase from. One lot from a certain brand may be
from a different supplier than another lot. If there's a bad lot, they
might eat the cost of returns. Even some of the large manufacturers
like Lexar might buy commodity parts if their own factories can't
churn out enough product to meet demand.

Although SanDisk seems to have a better reputation for compatibility
and reliability, I found that a circa 2002 red/blue 128 MB CF card was
the slowest one I ever bought. I ran some Norton Utilities format
tests, and CF cards with PNY or Memorex labels outperformed the
SanDisk. However - the SanDisk Ultra II seems to have done well
in speed tests - from many reviews.

PNY seems to be one of the big relabellers. I bought a 512 MB SD
card that was labelled as made in Japan. It clearly said "TOSHIBA"
on the back, so there was no question as to who the manufacturer
was.

Possibly the most consistently reliable flash card standard is the
xD Picture Card. It was basically one manufacturer (Toshiba) sold
as two brand names (FujiFilm and Olympus). Even SanDisk
resold Olympus labelled xD cards made by Toshiba at one time.
I think SanDisk may now make xD cards.

.

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