Mystery SD card; Question for Panasonic and Sandisk SD users

A couple weeks ago I had my Simpletech 512MB SD card replaced because it had become impossibly slow. It went from being able to write at 3.9MB/sec in a USB 2.0 card reader in summer 2004 to only writing at approximately 0.85MB/sec in fall 2004, and it was still getting even slower.

The card was one of the highly praised, uber-reliable-and-fast-too SD cards: OEMed by Panasonic, made in Japan, blah blah blah.

I'm not sure why it started acting up, but it did, and though it never lost any data, the slowdown was just way too much to deal with. So I got it replaced by Simpletech, whose SD cards all have lifetime warranties.

I just got the replacement from Simpletech. It's unlike any of the SD cards I've ever used and/or sold, and frankly it looks really cheaply made. BUT--it blazes in a USB2 reader at 5.34MB/sec, or 36.4X (almost as fast as my 1GB Lexars). It's also made in Taiwan, according to the packaging, whereas all SimpleTech cards I had previously heard of were made by Panasonic in Japan.

I do not know who the Original Equipment Manufacturer is, and theoretically there are only three possible manufacturers--the three corporations who designed the SD card standard: Sandisk, Panasonic (Matsushita), and Toshiba. (All the other brands buy from these guys--theoretically.)

This card resembles a cheapo Panasonic/Sandisk hybrid. I think it may be a new Panasonic card, since I haven't had any information on the form factor of recent Panasonics. Judging from the crappy exterior I would guess they are cost-cutting.

My question is this: Look at the attached photos. Do you own or have you seen a card similar to the card on the right? If so, what brand is it?

Thanks


(Note: in the back set of photos I point out that six of the new card's pins do not line up the way they usually do in other cards. This should not be considered a functional defect because as long as those pins do not stick out as far as the 4th and 5th [voltage] pins, the card will operate normally. As far as I know, it may even be a design improvement.)

Really? Nobody has seen a card like this? (Maybe I should have used a different thread title.)

[star882]

The new one looks a lot like my 1GB PQI (except for the labeling).
EDIT: Oh, and my PQI is made in Taiwan.

[alfonz]

I've got one of the newer Panasonic cards. The backside view looks identical to photo on the left. Only difference is the plastic is now black. Front looks the same too, except for the label of course.

Here's the info off the back.

D000 BK4JA223174
RP-SDK-512 MADE IN JAPAN

A couple weeks ago I had my Simpletech 512MB SD card replaced because it had become impossibly slow. It went from being able to write at 3.9MB/sec in a USB 2.0 card reader in summer 2004 to only writing at approximately 0.85MB/sec in fall 2004, and it was still getting even slower.

Thats weird, my "old trusty" SimpleTech 256mb SD card - 18 months old - had also ground to an almost standstill.

My current "main" card, a PQI 512mb mini-SD card in an adaptor has the following codes on the back:

AE16-5120
FF0510021

(This matches another PQI mini SD card I've got in my Smartphone, same AE16-5120 code, but FF0510027...)