Wi-Fi on SD cards standardised

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 10 January 2012 17:07

Your IT - Mobility

The SD Association has published a standard for incorporating Wi-Fi into SD memory cards.

The Wireless LAN SD standard announced at CES provides a mechanism for adding Wi-Fi connectivity to devices fitted with an SD slot.

"Wireless LAN SD offers you a standardised approach to transfer pictures, video, documents and other content easily with most existing cameras and video cameras," said Norm Frentz, chairman of the SD Association. "The Wireless LAN SD memory card standard demonstrates how SD Association innovation continues to respond to market demand and improve consumers' digital lives."

The new standard defines two interface types. One - designated by a W symbol - supports server upload and peer-to-peer functions. The other - designated by a D symbol - supports server upload and home network communication functions. Both sets of functions can be implemented on one card.

Use cases envisaged by the Association include uploading photos and videos from a camera to a computer or server for sharing or backup; downloading pictures from servers to cameras; sharing pictures and videos between cameras, smartphones and tablets without requiring an access point; and using Wireless LAN SD memory cards as wireless control points for devices such as TVs on a home network.

The standard is applicable to full size SD/SDHC/SDXC and microSD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards, Association officials stated.