What happened to SDIO Cards?

[French]

I have read some things here and there about SDIO cards but it looks like a lot of the "action" with these was in 2003. What happened to them? Is Palm unable to support? I saw "plans" for an FM receiver, a TV receiver, and GPS. I think GPS is available for Windows Mobile through SDIO...but how come not Palm?

Hopefully this isn't a stupid inquiry..I honestly don't understand why they aren't around and popular.

[NetBrakr]

There are some FM reciever for Palm. But I am not sure if it works with the latest model.

I have one, iBiz SD pocketradio.

JC

[smtihbt5]

As far as the GPS, I think Bluetooth was found to be a better solution. SDIO can really shorten battery life. Some of the Palms (like the T|E) had poor battery life anyway. New ones like the TX are better.

If you look around, you should be able to find SDIO cameras, barcode scanners, and RFID readers that support some Palm models.

[Guest]

My guess is that the decline in SDIO's popularity, if there actually is one, is due to many PDAs now having Bluetooth and WiFi built in. I think these were the two main applications for SDIO in the first place. For that matter, nowadays a lot of PDAs that don't have Bluetooth or WiFi built in don't support SDIO versions of them either.

[Ed Hardy]

I tried out a few SDIO cards and, as other people suggested, Bluetooth mostly turned out to be a better solution. There are a few exceptions, like Wi-Fi cards, but mostly I'd suggest you look into an external solution for your peripheral needs.

[justin.b]

Like others have said - bluetooth is usually the better solution, especially with something like GPS since it leaves your SD slot open for maps.

Some of the other SDIO devices are a little gimmicky, IMHO. You can buy a portable FM radio for less than $20, and can run it all day on a AA battery or two without draining your PDA. SDIO radio costs like $50 and requires a $200+ PDA to use it, and also can run down the PDA battery.

Sometimes convergence just for the sake of convergence doesn't make sense.

-Justin

[NetBrakr]

Actually Justin, the SD radio, ibiz, cost $20.

JC

[justin.b]

Really? I haven't looked terribly hard but the lowest price I've seen for one of these things at a retailer was ~$40 on-sale. At $20 it may make sense for me.

-Justin

[NetBrakr]

Yup.

http://www.gomogear.com/detail.aspx?PRODUCT_ID=214620

JC