Traditional floppy discs and hard discs are relatively inexpensive "non-volatile" means of storing data. Once you save data to them, you can turn off your computer and go home, safe in the knowledge that the data will be there the next time you need it.
The internal data storage memory on any Windows CE PC Companion is different. It's made up of computer chips that have to have a small current of electricity running through them all the time. That's why your PC Companion has backup batteries -- to keep the data storage memory alive in case the main batteries die.
The internal storage memory is still pretty safe, but it's "volatile" and relatively limited. If both the main and backup batteries ever die at the same time, you lose all the data on your PC Companion. That's why it's important to back up your data daily. It's also why SanDisk "Flashdisk" products are important to PC Companion users.
SanDisk non-volatile flash memory
SanDisk was founded in 1988 under the name SunDisk. The company designs, develops and markets "flash memory" data storage products used in a wide variety of electronic systems. You're probably most familiar with their PC Card and CompactFlash storage (memory) cards. Unlike the storage memory built into the PC Companions, SanDisk's "Flash" memory is non-volatile. No batteries are needed to keep the memory alive. A small electric current is needed to read to and write from flash memory, but that's provided by the PC Companion.
SanDisk pioneered industry development of flash memory cards for data storage and helped set many industry standards. SanDisk markets flash memory in a number of different forms. The first are the ATA Type II PCMCIA Flash Cards (also called "PC Cards"). These are about the size of a fat credit card. Most of the earlier and current Handheld PCs, and many notebook PCs come with slots that accept these cards. SanDisk also markets flash memory in the CompactFlash card size. These are about 1/3 the physical size of the PC Cards. All of the newer Palm-size PCs and many of the newer H/PCs have CompactFlash slots that accept these cards. Many digital cameras also use CompactFlash cards to store images and transfer them to computers. SanDisk also manufacturers "MultiMedia Cards," small postage-stamp-sized cards also used with digital cameras. Finally, SanDisk manufacturers flash memory chip-sets for hardware developers.
Adding extra data storage to PC Companions
Again, the benefits of flash memory cards are that they provide extra non-volatile data storage for your PC Companion. This lets you carry more important data with you, and gives you a safe place to back up important data when you're away from the office.
I've been using SanDisk cards since 1992 and as far as reviews go, there's really not much to say. They do what they're supposed to do and I've never lost any data stored on one. Saving and opening files from a SanDisk storage card is faster than with traditional hard and floppy disks. However, it is slightly slower than saving and opening files stored on the PC Companions' internal memory. You may notice it with larger data files.
For this review, I got some samples from SanDisk, including an 85 MB PCMCIA PC Card, a 48 MB CompactFlash Card, a CompactFlash to PC Card adapter, and ImageMate CompactFlash card reader.
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