Centro microSDHC Memory Card Support and Compatibility (+ Treo 680 SDHC)

Quite a few people have written to me and posted comments asking why Palm still claims that the maximum supported memory expansion size on the Centro is 4GB microSDHC (see image below) when higher capacity 6GB and 8GB microSDHC cards (soon also 12GB) have already been successfully used without any problems of any kind.

Granted, 4GB should prove to be more than enough storage for the average user (even 2GB or 1GB will do) but it nonetheless still fails to explain why Palm claims restrictions for higher capacity cards for power users such as myself or even for those wishing to fill their memory card to the rim with music and videos for playback with PocketTunes and CorePlayer software respectively.

Before I proceed, let me start by clearing the most important point:

Palm Centro smartphones are compatible with all 4, 6, and 8GB microSDHC cards.  Also note that all memory cards above 2GB are labeled SDHC (high capacity) instead of just SD.

The root of the issue with Palm’s claim that only “up to 4GB is supported” apparently has little to do with the actual Centro capabilities using higher capacity cards (since they work perfectly fine) than with the Card Info program on the device which incorrectly reports both the total size of your card and the free memory remaining.

As you can see from the screenshot on the left above, although my 8GB microSDHC card has been inserted in my Centro, recognized and working perfectly fine the Card Info program nonetheless reports only:

1112.8 MB Used and 2573 MB Free of 3686.5 MB

At the same time, reading the identical card properties on my PC (image above right) reports some:

5080 MB Used and 2510 MB Free of 7590 MB

What is basically happening is that the Card Info program on the Centro can apparently only report a maximum 4000 MB capacity and thus “omits” to report any size larger than this.  Therefore the only figure that you should really be looking at is the amount of Free space reported by either your PC or Centro which should be nearly identical (2510 and 2573 MB respectively in this instance).

Leaving the math aside, I can report that I have successfully used both 4GB microSDHC and 8GB microSDHC cards on my Centro for quite some time and have never encountered a single problem with them.

Separately, the same issue discussed here applies to Treo 680 owners seeking to use full size SDHC cards as well since Palm also claims that only “up to 4GB is supported”.  The fact is that here again I have successfully used both 8GB SDHC and 16GB SDHC cards without any issues whatsover.

Bottom line, whether you own a Palm Centro or Treo 680 smartphone I hope that this post will help you to feel perfectly reassured that any high capacity microSDHC or SDHC cards that you purchase will work just fine with your device.  These should provide you with all the storage that you need for your personal documents, photos, those thousands of MP3 music files or dozens of full length movies that you want to carry with you while on the go.

[BTW: Just in case you’re wondering how I got that beautiful green skin on my Centro screenshot, I simply use my favourite PalmRevolt software with an “Aqua Green” skin.]

Centronauts always work at full capacity…