<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
is	O
an	O
obsolete	O
flash	B-Device
memory	I-Device
card	I-Device
standard	O
owned	O
by	O
Toshiba	O
,	O
with	O
capacities	O
ranging	O
from	O
2MB	O
to	O
128MB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
format	O
mostly	O
saw	O
application	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
in	O
digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
and	O
audio	O
production	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
memory	B-Device
cards	I-Device
are	O
no	O
longer	O
manufactured	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
format	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
the	O
summer	O
of	O
1995	O
to	O
compete	O
with	O
the	O
MiniCard	B-Device
,	O
CompactFlash	B-Device
,	O
and	O
PC	B-Architecture
Card	I-Architecture
formats	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
memory	B-Device
cards	I-Device
are	O
nowadays	O
associated	O
with	O
digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
,	O
digital	O
audio	O
players	O
,	O
PDAs	B-Application
,	O
and	O
similar	O
devices	O
,	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
was	O
pitched	O
as	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
computer	O
floppy	B-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indeed	O
,	O
the	O
format	O
was	O
originally	O
named	O
Solid	B-Operating_System
State	I-Operating_System
Floppy	I-Operating_System
Disk	I-Operating_System
Card	I-Operating_System
(	O
SSFDC	B-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
physical	O
design	O
resembles	O
a	O
miniature	O
3.5	B-Device
"	I-Device
floppy	I-Device
disk	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SSFDC	B-Operating_System
forum	O
,	O
a	O
consortium	O
aiming	O
to	O
promote	O
SSFDC	B-Operating_System
as	O
an	O
industry	O
standard	O
,	O
was	O
founded	O
in	O
April	O
1996	O
,	O
consisting	O
of	O
37	O
initial	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
card	I-Operating_System
consists	O
of	O
a	O
single	O
NAND	O
flash	B-Device
chip	I-Device
embedded	O
in	O
a	O
thin	O
plastic	O
card	O
,	O
although	O
some	O
higher-capacity	O
cards	O
contain	O
multiple	O
linked	O
chips	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
smallest	O
and	O
thinnest	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
memory	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
only	O
0.76mm	O
thick	O
,	O
and	O
managed	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
favorable	O
cost	O
ratio	O
as	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
lack	O
a	O
built-in	O
controller	O
chip	O
,	O
which	O
kept	O
the	O
cost	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lack	O
of	O
built-in	O
controller	O
also	O
made	O
it	O
impossible	O
for	O
the	O
card	O
to	O
perform	O
automatic	O
wear	B-Application
levelling	I-Application
,	O
a	O
process	O
which	O
prevents	O
premature	O
failure	O
of	O
any	O
individual	O
block	O
by	O
ensuring	O
that	O
write	O
operations	O
are	O
evenly	O
distributed	O
across	O
the	O
whole	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
can	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
standard	O
3.5	B-Device
"	I-Device
floppy	B-Device
drive	I-Device
by	O
means	O
of	O
a	O
FlashPath	B-Device
adapter	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
remains	O
one	O
of	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
's	O
most	O
distinctive	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
method	O
was	O
not	O
without	O
its	O
own	O
disadvantages	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
required	O
special	O
drivers	O
offering	O
only	O
very	O
basic	O
file	O
read/write	O
capability	O
(	O
or	O
read-only	O
on	O
Macintosh	O
systems	O
)	O
and	O
was	O
limited	O
to	O
floppy-disk	O
transfer	O
speeds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
not	O
so	O
troublesome	O
in	O
the	O
earlier	O
days	O
of	O
the	O
format	O
,	O
when	O
card	O
sizes	O
were	O
limited	O
(	O
generally	O
8	O
–	O
16MB	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
USB	B-Protocol
interfaces	O
were	O
both	O
uncommon	O
and	O
low-speed	O
,	O
with	O
digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
connecting	O
by	O
"	O
high-speed	O
"	O
serial	O
links	O
that	O
themselves	O
needed	O
drivers	O
and	O
special	O
transfer	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
15minutes	O
taken	O
to	O
read	O
a	O
nearly	O
full	O
16MB	O
card	O
directly	O
to	O
hard	O
disk	O
by	O
Flashpath	B-Device
using	O
the	O
slowest	O
(	O
128kbit/s	O
)	O
PC	B-Device
floppy	B-Device
controller	O
was	O
still	O
simpler	O
and	O
slightly	O
faster	O
than	O
the	O
quickest	O
reliable	O
(	O
115.2kbit/s	O
)	O
serial	O
link	O
,	O
without	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
connection	O
,	O
synching	O
and	O
thumbnail	O
previewing	O
,	O
and	O
only	O
beaten	O
by	O
expensive	O
parallel-port-based	O
external	O
card	O
readers	O
that	O
could	O
do	O
the	O
same	O
job	O
in	O
2minutes	O
or	O
less	O
( ≳	O
1000kbit/s	O
,	O
comparable	O
to	O
USB1.0	O
)	O
when	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
compatible	O
high-speed	O
ECP	O
or	O
EPP	O
port	O
(	O
and	O
~	O
5minutes	O
using	O
a	O
basic	O
PPT	O
in	O
failsafe	O
mode	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
were	O
used	O
as	O
storage	O
for	O
portable	O
devices	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
form	O
that	O
could	O
easily	O
be	O
removed	O
for	O
access	O
by	O
a	O
PC	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
pictures	O
taken	O
with	O
a	O
digital	B-Device
camera	I-Device
would	O
be	O
stored	O
as	O
image	O
files	O
on	O
a	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
card	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
user	O
could	O
copy	O
the	O
images	O
to	O
a	O
computer	O
with	O
a	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
reader	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
reader	O
was	O
typically	O
a	O
small	O
box	O
connected	O
by	O
USB	B-Protocol
or	O
some	O
other	O
serial	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Modern	O
computers	O
,	O
both	O
laptops	B-Device
and	O
desktops	O
,	O
occasionally	O
have	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
slots	O
built	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
availability	O
of	O
dedicated	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
readers	O
has	O
dropped	O
off	O
,	O
readers	O
that	O
read	O
multiple	O
card	O
types	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
4-in-1	O
,	O
10-in-1	O
)	O
continue	O
to	O
include	O
the	O
format	O
,	O
but	O
even	O
these	O
have	O
decreased	O
in	O
quantity	O
,	O
with	O
many	O
dropping	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
in	O
favour	O
of	O
MicroSD	O
and/or	O
Memory	O
Stick	O
Micro	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
digital	O
audio	O
production	O
equipment	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
relied	O
on	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
storage	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Yamaha	O
QY100	O
Music	O
Sequencer	O
,	O
Roland	O
MC-09	O
“	O
PhraseLab	O
”	O
synthesizer	O
,	O
and	O
Korg	O
Triton	O
LE	O
workstation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
was	O
popular	O
in	O
digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
and	O
reached	O
its	O
peak	O
in	O
about	O
2001	O
,	O
when	O
it	O
garnered	O
nearly	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
digital-camera	O
market	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cards	O
larger	O
than	O
128MB	O
were	O
not	O
available	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
compact	O
digital	B-Device
cameras	I-Device
were	O
reaching	O
a	O
size	O
where	O
even	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
were	O
too	O
big	O
to	O
be	O
convenient	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Eventually	O
Toshiba	O
switched	O
to	O
smaller	O
,	O
higher-capacity	O
Secure	B-Device
Digital	I-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
and	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
ceased	O
to	O
have	O
major	O
support	O
after	O
Olympus	O
and	O
Fujifilm	O
both	O
switched	O
to	O
xD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
did	O
not	O
find	O
as	O
much	O
support	O
in	O
PDAs	B-Application
,	O
MP3	O
players	O
,	O
or	O
pagers	B-Application
as	O
some	O
other	O
formats	O
,	O
especially	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
and	O
Europe	O
,	O
though	O
there	O
was	O
still	O
significant	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
larger	O
than	O
128MB	O
were	O
never	O
released	O
,	O
although	O
there	O
were	O
rumors	O
of	O
a	O
256MB	O
card	O
being	O
planned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
came	O
in	O
two	O
formats	O
5V	O
and	O
the	O
more	O
modern	O
3.3V	O
(	O
sometimes	O
marked	O
3V	O
)	O
named	O
for	O
their	O
main	O
supply	O
voltages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
older	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
devices	O
only	O
support	O
5V	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
,	O
whereas	O
many	O
newer	O
devices	O
only	O
support	O
3.3V	O
cards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
an	O
oversized	O
xD-to-SmartMedia	O
adapter	B-Device
that	O
allows	O
xD	O
cards	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
port	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
fit	O
entirely	O
inside	O
a	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
slot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
a	O
limit	O
on	O
the	O
capacity	O
of	O
the	O
xD	O
card	O
when	O
used	O
in	O
such	O
adapters	B-Device
(	O
sometimes	O
128MB	O
or	O
256MB	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
device	O
is	O
subject	O
to	O
the	O
restrictions	O
of	O
the	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
reader	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
memory	B-Device
cards	I-Device
are	O
no	O
longer	O
manufactured	O
as	O
of	O
around	O
2006	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
have	O
been	O
no	O
new	O
devices	O
designed	O
for	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
for	O
quite	O
a	O
long	O
time	O
now	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Smartmedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
are	O
still	O
frequently	O
available	O
on	O
eBay	O
mostly	O
in	O
used	O
condition	O
,	O
with	O
new	O
cards	O
coming	O
up	O
from	O
time	O
to	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
include	O
a	O
little-known	O
copy-protection	O
feature	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
ID	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
few	O
implementations	O
of	O
this	O
primitive	O
DRM	O
system	O
was	O
by	O
the	O
Korean	O
company	O
Game	O
Park	O
,	O
which	O
used	O
it	O
to	O
protect	O
commercial	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
GP32	B-Device
handheld	O
gaming	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Samsung	B-Application
's	O
1999	O
Yepp	O
Hip-Hop	O
MP3	O
player	O
also	O
used	O
the	O
feature	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
implement	O
Secure	B-Device
Digital	I-Device
Music	O
Initiative	O
DRM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
frequently	O
become	O
corrupted	O
and	O
unusable	O
when	O
the	O
cards	O
are	O
read	O
or	O
written	O
in	O
a	O
card-reading	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Affected	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
cards	I-Operating_System
will	O
be	O
unusable	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
camera	O
or	O
device	O
will	O
be	O
unable	O
to	O
format	O
,	O
read	O
or	O
write	O
to	O
the	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
SmartMedia	B-Operating_System
card	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
the	O
FlashPath	B-Device
adapter	B-Device
,	O
is	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
plot	O
device	O
in	O
the	O
film	O
Colombiana	O
(	O
2011	O
)	O
,	O
during	O
the	O
opening	O
scenes	O
set	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
.	O
</s>
