About SD Card, Micro SD Card, USB Storage

About SD Card, Micro SD Card & USB Storage

Question: What are SD, Micro SD Card, USB Storage, External Storage?

SD Card & Micro SD Card are removable memory cards that give your phone & tablet more storage space to save your photos. The advantage of storing your photos & videos on these memory cards is that you can easily remove them from your device and insert it into another without the hassle of moving files around. For example, you can remove a SD Card from your digital camera and insert it into your tablet to view photos taken recently.

Many digital cameras, smartphones and tablets are compatible with SD Cards. You can easily find one in local electronic stores or order one from an online retailer. While SD Cards are popular, you should always consult your device's manufacturer or user's manual to find that is compatible. These are some attributes to consider when buying a SD Card for use with our App:

Physical Size: Find one that fits in your device. See picture to the right (Left: Micro SD Card, Right: SD Card)

Family: SDHC or SD. Unless your device only support SD, pick SDHC.

Capacity: Get the largest capacity that you can afford. Start with at least 4GB.

Speed: The faster the better. We recommend Class 10 or faster.

USB Storage or USB Mass Storage is a general term used in Android to refer to your device's built in storage. Unlike SD Card, you cannot remove them. However, most device allows you to access content stored on USB Storage from a Computer by connecting your device to the Computer via a USB cable. On most devices, after the cable is connected, you have to Turn USB Storage On explicitly from the notification bar before you can browse your files stored on USB Storage.

Click Button to Turn on USB Storage to access files from a Computer

Click Button to Turn off USB Storage to access files from Fish Bowl Photo Gallery

External Storage, in Android, refers to removable Micro SD Card, SD Card or non-removable Mass Storage on your device. If your device does not support any of these storage media, then our App will stay in Read-Only Mode*. You can still browse files stored on your device's Internal Memory, but most file operations and photo edit functions such as Crop, Move, Resize, Delete will not work in Read-Only Mode.

* Requires that Menu > Settings > System > Internal Storage is turned on.

Question: Where do I insert the Micro SD or SD Card?

Not all device supports Micro SD or SD Card. If your device does, usually it is on the back or the side of your device. You may need to remove the battery cover and battery to see the slot. Consult your device manual or manufacturer for specifics. See below for some examples.

NOOK Color™ by Barnes & Noble

(Back side, Bottom Right under Flap)

Samsung Galaxy S2

(Remove Battery Cover)

HTC EVO

(Remove Battery Cover & Battery)

Question: What are the Feature differences with and without External Storage Media?

To take advantage of all features, your device must support External Storage Media. Most Android devices support this today. Without such support, functionality of several features will be limited.

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