Waterproof SDHC Card is Cool, But Pointless

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

Our onsite reporters have seen a lot of nifty products at Computex in Taipei and Kingmax’s waterproof SD card is one of them.

We have no idea who would have a use for this product other than people who often forget to empty their pockets before diving into the pool. That said, this falls firmly into the “kinda pointless but kinda cool,” category.

Representing the highest capacity of waterproofed SD card, Kingmax’s 32GB SDHC, uses the company’s patented PIP technology and is waterproof, dustproof and shockproof, protecting your data and keeping your snaps safe, rain or shine.


Without knowing how much they cost, it’s hard to say who’d want to use these. If they’re relatively cheap, we’d go ahead and buy them just for the sake of it. Can’t hurt to have a little extra protection from the elements, right? However, if they’re pricey, we’d say skip it. We’ve yet to lose an SD card to water damage so paying a premium price just to guarantee it never happens seems silly.

Jane McEntegart
23 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Kill@dor
    I think data protection is important, but wow they took that to the next level ^_^

    Reply
  • Its only pointless if you plan to never drop your SD card in water. Plan is the key word. Stop "sensationalizing" the headlines just so people read them.... i know.. that's the point of a headline, but come on people.
    Reply
  • icepick314
    until they make it bomb- and nuclear-proof, those things are WEAK!!!

    these days, with all the stuff happening around the world, if it can't withstand C4 or semtax blast, water and dust is least of your worries....
    Reply
  • As a public relations representative for Lexar, we've heard from a number of customers about Lexar memory cards that go through the wash or fall into the pool. From just about every person who has told us these stories, they've found that if they let the card dry out overnight, it works the next morning.
    Reply
  • Zuesacoatl
    This is nice for those of us who use "water proof" cameras that use the SD cards. I camp, hike, raft, etc, and having this as another form of protecting the pics I take during my trips is another way of taking piece of mind with me.
    Reply
  • starryman
    I bought a 128mb usb flash stick on clearance at Target for $1.79. I also have an old 512mb SD card... I had them in my pocket and went to the pool and swam around for about 30 minutes. OOH crap! Thought they were destroyed. I dried them with a paper towel... voila worked fine.
    Reply
  • joebob2000
    If you can demonstrate that the cards bearing the waterproof feature are indistinguishable from regular cards, then the "pointless" adjective might be warranted. Until then, tell all the outdoor and extreme sport enthusiasts out there (just to name a few that could benefit from this) that it's "pointless" for anything to be waterproof and see how far that gets you.
    Reply
  • Just about Every GPS unit for Marine, treking, and outdoor use can take or requires SD cards for maps, tracks, waypoints etc. Combine that usage in harsh conditions in Military or commercial applications and I think there is a pretty good "case," for enviormentally tough SD cards.

    Ya...the Author clearly doesn't have enough of an understanding of the uses for SD cards has he needs to make the claimes he is.
    Reply
  • mavroxur
    Now you just need a waterproof camera / PDA / mp3 player / netbook to put it in.
    Reply
  • Silluete
    I agree with Yo Mamma and emverham. Stop put opinion on news headline let's the reader or user decide what pointless from hardware,because one pointless hardware to one person can be a lifesaver for other.
    Reply