MultiMediaCard (MMC) is a flash memory card format that was released in 1997 by SanDisk, Toshiba and Siemens AG. Being one of the first flash based memory cards available, the MMC card was very successful. At the time of its release it was very small and was about the size of a postage stamp. The size of the MMC card is similar to Secure Digital Cards and they can be used in electronic devices that use SD cards.
MMC was designed to be used as a storage device for different devices. It can be used in digital cameras to store pictures or in personal computers to store data files. The information can be transferred back and forth from the device to the computer with the use of a MMC card reader. Most modern computer and laptops have built in card readers that make it possible to read the MMC cards.
MMC cards are used in various electronic devices such as mp3 players, cell phones, PDA’s and digital cameras. The size of the cards range from sizes up to 8 GB. The MMC card is very small and they measure 24 mm X 32 mm X 1.5 mm.
Over the past couple of years, due to the popularity of Secure Digital Cards, fewer companies are building devices that use this card.
Types of MMC Cards
Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC)
MMC cards can also be found in a smaller size and these cards are known as Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard, or RS-MMC. Released in 2004, these cards are about half the size of regular MMC cards. RS-MMC cards can be used in regular MMC or SD slots with the use of a special adapter. Card sizes go up to 2 GB.
Dual-Voltage MultimediaCard (DV-MMC)
The DV-MMC memory cards solved the issue of voltage that plagued earlier versions. These cards were able to operate at both 1.8 and 3.3 volts.
MMCplus and MMCmobile
The MMCplus and MMCmobile were released in 2005 and they were created as a new competitor to the hugely popular SD cards.
MMCmicro
The MMCmicro is a very small version of the MMC card. It comes in measuring 14 mm × 12 mm × 1.1 mm, which makes it as small as a microSD card. The MMCmicro has the ability to support dual voltage and has backward compatibility with MMC devices.