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Huawei can’t officially use microSD cards in its phones going forward
- NotPaidToPost 7y agoCan we stop posting those FUD, rubbish articles? How does not being a member of the SD association prevents companies from using microSD cards? From the SD Association's website: > SD Association does not manufacture, market or sell any product; it creates standards and then promotes the adoption, advancement and use of SD standards used by competing product manufacturers that make interoperable memory cards and devices.
- clouddrover 7y agoHuawei now has licensing problems: https://www.sdcard.org/developers/licensing/index.html https://www.sdcard.org/developers/licensing/index.html Here's an interesting bit from the SD Association License Agreement: > 13.5 This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event that Licensee’s membership in the SD Association terminates or expires for any reason.
- NotPaidToPost 7y agoFUD in my view because this is about access to specs not use in end products. The interesting issue here, though is why is the SD Association an American entity althougn it was originally setup by Japanese firms? I think we're also going to see a push by China to change the game in that area.
- ddingus 7y agoAre there not specific access modes that do require a license / royalty? It is true anyone can use an SD card. But displaying the logo, as well as some access protocols are controlled. Things like 1 bit serial vs 4 bits, may mean "unofficial" = slow For small scale, say custom embedded, small run stuff, nobody cares. But at the smart phone level?
- NikkiA 7y agoGiven that they already have those specs for the 'licensed' modes, it's irrelevant, unless the SD assoc. is going to release a new version of the SD standard specifically just to ensure huawei don't have the spec for it, and then make all other SD licensees force using this upgrade; all to validate trump's trade war. Such a move would very likely backfire on the US.
- ddingus 7y agoIt is not a technical restriction, but a legal one. They are no longer licensed to use the more efficient comms. Those specs are not hard to get. They can, of course, use them, and can be hauled into court for doing so without paying royalties. Same for displaying the logo.
- clouddrover 7y agoYou need the SD Association license as well as the other licenses. See the flowchart on the SD Association's licensing page and see SD-3C's FAQ: https://www.sd-3c.com/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx https://www.sd-3c.com/FrequentlyAskedQuestions.aspx
- NikkiA 7y ago> why is the SD Association an American entity Short answer: because SanDisk were/are an american corporation, and were the most influential part of the trio in the early days.
- panpanna 7y agoThis article is just plain stupid. At this point Huawei can do whatever they want, including using microsd but not paying any patent and licensing fees. SD association cannot do anything to stop Huawei now that US already has played it's strongest hand. Huawei has no market presence in US. Outside US you can not sue them because "your honor we wanted to pay them the fees but their government blocked it"
- gamblor956 7y agoThe SD association can get bans on Huawei phones in other countries as well... IP protection is an actual thing outside China.
- hungryhobo 7y agoHuawei uses nm cards, their own standard. Now it looks pretty smart on their part
- sschueller 7y agoI think the licensing was already an issue for them and that is why they switched to their own type of storage. When I saw this a year ago I thought it was stupid just like Sony but I didn't know that in order to use SD cards you need to pay licenses. I thought it was on open standard.
- deogeo 7y agoRequiring a license to use a standard storage medium is just another barrier preventing new competitors from entering the market. While I fully support the US trying to disentangle itself from technological dependence on China, these kind of licensing agreements cannot die soon enough, and should be banned as anti-competitive.
- Keverw 7y agoI haven't really been following the Huawei story too much, but I find it ironic they are handing them out as part of what people call the "Obama Phone" program. Looks like May 2018 [1] they were banned from using gov funds on Huawei. Someone I know in the middle of a divorce who recently got one around December. She was asking me for help with hers since I'm a tech geek. It's just basically a cheap Android Phone. Maybe they just have a bunch on hand they plan to get rid of and then find a new supplier but might depend on the county levels too... Not too sure how that works, just find it odd the gov themself are giving out a phone they are banned from buying. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Service_Fund#Concerns_about_2018_changes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Service_Fund#Concern... Edited: Oh looks like the concern is spying... Makes me wonder though... Many American phones like the iPhone is made in China too, why don't they ban chinese made iPhone's too then, what stops the factory from slipping something in those products? Also looks like Android updates and Google Play might quit working too at some point... Be interesting if Google could release something to turn those existing phones into a "Pure Google" type of experience. It seems like having all these unpatched and no longer supported Android phones in itself seems like a security risk.
- gumby 7y agoStandards organizations should not be dragged into political disputes. (not to say they don't have enough politics of their own)