Project PDA

CompactFlash (CF) was originally a type of data storage device, used in portable electronic devices. As a storage device, it typically uses flash memory in a standardized enclosure, and was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994.

CompactFlash defines a physical interface which is smaller than, but electrically identical to, the PCMCIA-ATA interface. That is, it appears to the host device as if it were a hard disk of some defined size and has a tiny IDE controller onboard the CF device itself. The connector is about 43 mm wide, and the case is 36 mm deep and comes in two standard thicknesses, CF I (3.3 mm), and CF II (5 mm). Both types are otherwise identical. CF I cards can be used in CF II slots, but CF II cards are too thick to fit in CF I slots. Flash memory cards are usually CF I.

CF cards are much more compact than the even earlier PC Card (PCMCIA) Type I memory cards, except for its thickness which matches PC Card Type I and Type II thicknesses respectively. CF has managed to be the most successful of the early memory card formats, outliving both Miniature Card, SmartMedia, and PC Card Type I in mainstream popularity. SmartMedia did offer heavy competition to CF in smaller devices, and was more popular than CF at its peak in terms of market penetration, but SmartMedia would cede this area to newer card types (during the period of roughly 2002-2005).

The memory card formats that came out in the late 1990s to the early 2000s (SD/MMC, various Memory Stick formats, xD-Picture Card, etc.) offered stiff competition. The new smaller formats were a fraction of the size of CF, in some cases smaller than even CF had been in respect to PC Card. These new formats would dominate PDAs, cell phones, and consumer cameras (especially subcompact models).

Type flash memory card that can be used with some PDA, especially with the Pocket PC. Thus, the PDA that have CompactFlash slot can expand its memory with the help of such cards. There are two types of slots for CF: those who accept cards of Type I, with storage capacities that can reach 200 MB, and Type II, the most prominent is the IBM Microdrive, with a capacity of up to 1 GB. In the slot for CF Type II cards can connect peripherals such as a modem.

Entering plenty of text with the little integral keyboard or using the script software can be a exasperating assignment. Think spending in a transferable full size keyboard - it will save you time in the future.