Kingston Technology Digital Media User Manual
kingston.com/flash
Digital Media Guide
Portable digital media for computers, digital cameras, and other devices
Kingston®, the world’s leading independent manufacturer of memory products, sells a
broad range of flash cards and USB flash drives (collectively called flash storage
devices) that employ flash memory chips for storage as well as ultra-portable PC Card
hard drives. This Digital Media Technical Guide’s purpose is to explain the various
technologies and digital media offerings that are available.
Note: Due to flash technology changes, specifications listed in this document are
subject to change without notice
.
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Kingston’s enduring
commitment to service
and support make
Kingston an easy choice
for Flash memory.
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Flash Memory: Empowering A New Generation of Flash
1.0
Storage Devices
Toshiba invented flash memory in the 1980s as a new memory technology that
allowed stored data to be saved even when the memory device was disconnected
from its power source. Since then, flash memory technology has evolved into the
preferred storage media for a variety of consumer and industrial devices.
IN CONSUMER DEVICES, FLASH MEMORY IS WIDELY USED IN:
• Notebook computers • Digital cameras
• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) • Electronic musical instruments
• Global Positioning Systems (GPS) • Cellular telephones
• Solid-state music players such as • Television set-top boxes
MP3 players • Pagers
• Personal computers
Flash memory is also used in many industrial applications where reliability and data
retention in power-off situations are key requirements, such as in:
• Security systems • Military systems
• Embedded computers • Solid-state disk drives
• Networking and communication products • Wireless communication devices
• Retail management products • Medical products
(e.g., handheld scanners)
2.0
Flash Card or USB Flash Drive Capacity
Some of a flash storage device’s listed capacity is used for formatting and other
functions and thus is not available for data storage.
When a flash storage device is manufactured, steps are taken to ensure that the device
operates reliably and to permit the host device (computer, digital camera, PDA, etc.)
to access the memory cells – i.e., to store and retrieve data on the flash storage device.
These steps – loosely called “formatting” – utilize some of the memory cells within
the device and thus reduce the capacity available for data storage by the end-user.
Formatting includes the following operations:
1.Testing each memory cell in the flash storage device.
2.Identifying all defective cells and taking steps to ensure that no data will be written
to or read from a defective cell.
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FLASH MEMORY KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY 2
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3.Reserving some cells to serve as “spares.” Flash memory cells have a long but finite
lifetime. Therefore, some cells are held in reserve to replace any memory cells that
may fail over time.
4. Creating a File Allocation Table (FAT) or other directory. To enable flash storage
devices to conveniently store and access customer files, a file management system
must be created to allow any device or computer to identify the files stored in the
flash storage device. The most common type of file management system for flash
storage devices is the File Allocation Table (FAT), which is also used on hard drives.
Kingston’s CompactFlash
cards have a rated error
specification of less
than one (1) bit in
1,000,000,000,000,000
bits read, or one (1)
bit per 1015bits read.
5.Reserving some cells for use by the flash storage device’s controller, e.g., for storing
firmware updates and other controller-specific information.
6. Where applicable, reserving some cells for special features. For example, the
specification for Secure Digital (SD) cards requires reserved areas to support special
copy protection and security features.
3.0
Features of Kingston’s Flash Storage Products
Kingston’s flash storage devices offer many advantages for both consumer and
industrial applications:
• Flash Storage Device Warranty: Kingston warrants that its flash storage devices are
free from defects in material and workmanship for the period specified below:
• CF, SD, SM, MMC Flash Cards: Lifetime
®
• DataTraveler
USB Flash Drives: 5 years
For further details, see kingston.com/company/warranty.asp
• Digital Media Reader-Writer Five-Year Warranty: Kingston’s line of digital media
reader-writers come with a five-year warranty from defects in material and
workmanship. The PC Card 4/1 reader-writer comes with a two-year warranty. For
further details, see kingston.com/company/warranty.asp
• Solid State: Flash storage devices, as semiconductor storage devices, have no
moving parts and thereby are not subject to the mechanical failure issues of hard
drives. Their overall data reliability enabled them to dominate the convenienceoriented portable memory products market, operating silently with a zero decibel
noise level.
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FLASH MEMORY KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY 3
Kingston’s engineers
test and select high-
performance
controllers to ensure
that Kingston’s flash
cards are among the
performance leaders
in the industry.
kingston.com/flash
• Small Physical Size (or Form Factor): Flash storage devices are designed to be easily
transported. Convenience is an important criterion, especially for consumer and
corporate applications.
• High Data Reliability: Flash memory is very reliable and many of the flash storage
device types also include Error Correction Code (ECC) checking to detect singlebit errors. For example, Kingston’s CompactFlash®cards have a rated error
specification of less than one (1) bit in 1,000,000,000,000,000 bits read (1 bit per
1015 bits read).
• Kingston Flash Data Retention: Kingston flash storage devices are rated for up to
10 years under normal use. Important information should also be backed up on
other media for long-term safekeeping.
• Wear-Leveling Technology: Kingston flash storage devices (excluding SmartMedia
cards) incorporate controllers utilizing advanced wear-leveling technology, which
distributes write cycles across the flash card. Wear-leveling thus extends the useful
life of a flash memory card (for details, please see Kingston Flash Cell Endurance
section, next).
• Flash Cell Endurance: Up to 10,000 Multi- Level Cell (MLC) Flash or up to 100,000
Single-Level Cell (SLC Flash) write cycles per physical sector.
According to Toshiba, the inventor of flash memory: “the 10,000 cycles of MLC
NAND is more than sufficient for a wide range of consumer applications, from
storing documents to digital photos. For example, if a 256MB MLC NAND Flashbased card can typically store 250 pictures from a 4-megapixel camera (a
conservative estimate), its 10,000 write/erase cycles, combined with wear-leveling
algorithms in the controller, will enable the user to store and/or view
approximately 2.5 million pictures within the expected useful life of the card.”
1
For USB flash drives, Toshiba calculated that a 10,000 write cycle endurance
would enable customers to “completely write and erase the entire contents once
per day for 27 years, well beyond the life of the hardware.”
SLC flash based products, typically found in Kingston’s Elite Pro™cards and
DataTraveler 2.0 USB flash drives, offer both high-performance and highendurance.
• Automatic Bad Sector Remapping: Kingston flash controllers automatically lock out
sections with bad memory cells (“bad blocks”) and move the data to other sections
(“spare blocks”) to avoid data corruption. During factory formatting (as described
in Section 2), spare blocks are set aside on the flash storage device for remapping
bad sectors over time.
1* Toshiba press release, “Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. Releases
Performance Research on MLC NAND Flash Memory for Consumer Applications,”
May 10, 2004
FLASH MEMORY KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY 4
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The DataPak™is the
perfect solution for
notebooks, handhelds,
digital cameras or any
other digital device
with a Type II PC
Card slot.
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• High-Quality Connectors: Kingston’s flash storage devices have connectors rated for
more than 10,000 insertions.
• Operating Temperature and Humidity: 0° C ~ 60° C, 5% ~ 95% humidity
• High-Capacity: Flash storage devices can provide large storage capacities in a very
small form factor. This flexibility makes them ideal for consumer uses, such as
digital film or storage for MP3 music, where portability and convenience
are important.
Please note: Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other
functions and thus is not available for data storage. Please see Section 2
for details.
• High-Performance: Kingston’s Elite Pro and Hi-Speed DataTraveler USB flash drives
are faster than many standard flash products and many competitive products.
Kingston’s engineers test and select high-performance controllers to ensure that
Kingston’s flash cards are among the performance leaders. Please see the Appendix
for information about USB and Hi-Speed USB performance. Kingston standard flash
products offer moderate performance levels for general purpose applications.
• Low Power Consumption: Unlike standard DRAM memory that needs to be
constantly powered on to maintain its data, flash memory is non-volatile and does
not require power to maintain its data. Flash memory’s low power consumption
results in longer battery life for the host device.
• Plug and Play Support: Kingston’s flash memory line supports plug and play. With
plug and play technology and compatible computer operating systems, a flash
storage device can be inserted into a computer or a flash media reader and be
quickly recognized and accessed by the computer.
• Hot-Swapping Support: Hot-swapping allows for plugging or unplugging flash
storage devices into a compatible computer or reader without needing to power off
and restart the computer. This feature enhances the portability and convenience of
flash storage devices for transferring data, pictures or music between two
computers or devices.
4.0
Non-Volatile NOR and NAND Flash Technologies
Unlike Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), flash memory is non-volatile.
Non-volatile memory retains data even without being powered-on. For example,
when a computer is turned off, all data that was in the computer’s DRAM memory is
lost; however, when a flash storage device is removed from a digital camera, all data
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FLASH MEMORY KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY 5