January 20 2010, Since several slumps over the past few years, the ever-fluctuating market of NAND flash memory currently seems to be back in a favorable, steadily growing position. However, there is a very grey lining to this market’s current  silver cloud.  Counterfeit memory cards, predominantly from China, is still a major factor in the channel and is also on the rise, particularly in the UK, now more than ever. Given the commodity nature of flash memory today, fake memory cards can appear in any part of the world very easily and it appears that they are becoming more and more readily available.
Fake memory cards pose a massive threat not only to flash manufacturers themselves but cause problems throughout the whole channel from vendor to distributor to reseller and finally the consumer. The most significant threat of these counterfeit flash cards lies with the consumers themselves.

Fake Memory Cards Symptoms

Some of the problems which have arisen for consumers who have purchased fake memory cards include;

• Damage to devices which the fake memory cards are used in
• Problems accessing data on the memory card
• Problems formatting the memory cards
• Incorrect capacities stated on the counterfeit memory cards
• Failure of the memory card within a few months with unexpected data loss
• Slower transfer speeds

One product tested by online media company CIOL proved;

“The pen drives were sold asserting that the capacity is 32GB, while even 1GB of data could not be saved and could not be formatted too.”

These fake flash cards have become an issue for all of the major memory vendors including Kingston Technology, SanDisk, Transcend and main NAND chip manufacturer Samsung. Steve Shen of Digitimes explains,

“a large quantity of fake NAND flash memory cards is showing up in the China market with the bulk available as Samsung-branded flash memory chips, according to sources with Taiwan memory chipmakers. Most of the fake memory cards, which are packaged as finished products from branded vendors, are found even without a die inside”.

Kingston fight back

To combat fake memory cards, some vendors like Kingston Technology have gone a step further than most and actually created a ‘fun’ online facility for consumers to check that their product is genuine. Kingston explain;

‘As a world leader in memory products, Kingston is committed to providing its customers the highest product quality. Authentic Kingston products are meticulously tested. Those who purchase genuine Kingston products can obtain Kingston’s world-renowned global warranty and technical support services.

When your products are not genuine Kingston, you may encounter a lot of problems such as data loss and unstable performance. However, consumers who intend to purchase Kingston might be misguided by cheaper prices, similar packaging, and bigger capacity that Kingston has not launched. Sometimes, consumers may not verify the products carefully and then make their purchase decision. “Search for Genuine Kingston” microsite is a useful platform for end-users to browse several practical tips to verify genuine Kingston products.

In this game, players have to answer 12 questions within 1 minute. The game would be over when the time is up or 5 incorrect answers are provided. The top 20 successful entries of every week, with 12 correct answers within the shortest time, will be announced on the “Top Sleuth” webpage and awarded 5000~15000 K-Bi. K-Bi is the virtual currency only for Kingston Blog’s members. Members can collect K-Bi and redeem prizes quarterly on Kingston Blog.’

As this suggests, the biggest problem now lies with consumers who are purchasing memory cards and products online. Online shopping sites like Ebay and Amazon have seen a huge rise in the number of fake memory cards sold through their site over the past 12 months. It is almost impossible for them to guarantee genuine products when their network consists of such a huge number of independent, unvetted sellers.

Confirm if you have received a genuine memory card

As consumers hunt for the cheapest prices, there is no way to identify if a purchase from one of these sites is that of a fake memory card until they receive or use the goods.  In some instances, the cards work fine for a few months and die with sudden, unexpected failures leaving the consumer out of pocket, and potentially with damaged hardware.

Feel free to contact the support lines of the popular vendors to confirm the authenticity of your product.

• SanDisk UK +44.207.365.4193
• Sony UK +44.870.511.1999
• Kingston UK +44.193.273.8950

In some cases, the manufacturers also provide product registration on their website and it is advised to use this to register your product.

Established in 1990, Simms International PLC, a specialist distributor of original flash memory products has rooted relationships with major manufacturers  such as Kingston and Transcend. Simms is a trusted memory specialist distributor in the UK and works closely with top vendors and resellers to help prevent fake memory saturating the marketplace.

Buy original memory from trusted sources. Check the Memory Cards range at Techdna.

Samuel Hartridge, Simms International PLC