Review: Samsung indestructible microSDHC memory cards

Now that memory cards are no longer the tiny, pricey luxury enjoyed by the few, manufacturers are looking for new ways to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack. Samsung thinks it has found a way – create SD-type cards that are supposedly waterproof, shock and shatterproof and magnetic proof.

I took an 8GB microSDHC card for a spin, and really only cared about one test in particular – whether or not it’s water proof. In case you’re wondering, I figured that the risk from magnetism-caused data loss was pretty low, and as for being able to survive being run over by a car, if I’m in a situation where I pull out my memory card and it gets run over by a car soon after, I’m doing something wrong and have more to worry about than the survival of my SD card.

So my test was pretty straightforward – I loaded up the card with a bunch of data – photos, files, etc., then I dunked it in a cup of water and let it sit for an hour, which I thought was more than enough time for water saturation. Incidentally, this card is supposed to handle up to 24 hours in sea water which has to be more damaging than mere fresh water.

I let the card sit overnight to dry out after yanking it out of the water. (No, I didn’t expect to just plug it back in and get it working!)

And what do you know? My data was still there. I’m usually wary of things advertised as waterproof or worse, water-resistant, so it was nice to see something like this work well.

These Samsung SDHC cards come in sizes 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32GB. The 2 and 4GB models are class 4 devices; the 8 and 16GB can be found in either class 6 or class 10 models; and the 32GB is a class 10.

One other very nice feature is the that it comes with a microSD adapter and a clear plastic case. You can find these cards at Amazon and lots of other retailers starting at under $13.

Our thanks to MemoryCardZoo.com for the review sample.

(Disclaimer: Gizmos for Geeks received a complimentary review copy of this product.)