PCMCIA Slot for Portable Devices

PCMCIA Slot

By Anne Ahira

Not many people have heard of a PCMCIA slot. What are they? As you may have guessed, PCMCIA is an acronym for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association. Yes, we know, it’s a mouthful.

But if big names were a road block to success, Arnold Swartzenegger wouldn’t be the governor of California, now would he? In this article we are going to discuss the growing popularity of PCMCIA slot. We are also going review their three most popular and practical uses.

First things first…what is a PCMCIA slot? The acronym does not actually stand for a product, but rather for an organization that includes over 500 businesses that have agreed upon a standard for small devices that are commonly called PC cards.

These cards are about the size of a credit card and they were originally intended to add memory to portable computers. Essentially, they were nothing more than additional RAM that could easily be inserted in laptop computers.

But the PCMCIA slot has several other uses these days besides its original intended purpose. Specifically, the standard PC card can be used for many different portable devices.

There are also a few different types of PCMCIA slot cards. In fact, there are currently three of them and all of them have the same shape and are roughly the same size.

The only real difference is that they are different widths, depending on the power and size of the portable device that they were designed for.

PC cards are commonly separated or referred to by type, i.e., Type I, Type II, and Type III cards.

Type I PCMCIA slot cards are the smallest of the group at only around 3.3 mm thick. They are commonly used to add additional RAM or ROM to laptop computers. One reason that they are growing in popularity is that they are much easier to install than traditional memory chips.

If you have never actually added RAM to your computer, then you are probably unaware of how tedious, even difficult it can be. Not only do you have to remove the old RAM and slide the new chips into place, but you may also have to reprogram your computer.

That is why many people hire professional computer technicians to install additional RAM, which can be quite costly. PC cards, on the other hand, are often extremely simple to insert and do not require many reboots.

By comparison, Type II PC cards are a bit thicker at around 5.5 mm. They are commonly used for modem and fax modem cards. Why are these important? Well, they can be used to provide additional memory. However, they have been largely replaced by digital units and by email.

Lastly, Type III PC cards are the thickest at 10.5 mm, which is large enough for most portable disk drives. These devices are often used for the businessman on the go and they provide additional memory to back up important files.

Another great thing about PC cards is that they can be replaced at any time, often without requiring a reboot. They can also easily be slipped into fax machines or other portable devices.

Here's PCMCIA Slot Selections:

Dell M1330 Mini PCMCIA Slot Assembly Tyco - 175975...	Customer Review: Click Here for More Info
Digigear Duel Adapter ExpressCard 34 to PCMCIA PC ...	Customer Review: I bought this so I could use my buffalo high power wireless g wifi pcmcia card with my Dell 1505 laptop which has only an express card slot. No luck, no matter what drivers, installation steps, or configuration settings I try, the wireless will not ... Read More	(5)
Dell XPS M1330 Mini PCMCIA Card Slot...	Customer Review: Click Here for More Info
Dell Latitude D505 PCMCIA Slot - CRV4211647...	Customer Review: Click Here for More Info
DELL XPS MINI PCMCIA SLOT ASSEMBLY E184173...	Customer Review: Click Here for More Info