The first Microdrive was introduced in 1999 by IBM and is the only memory card based on hard disk drive technology and not on flash memory technology. Microdrive is a miniature hard disk drive that uses the same form format as the CompactFlash Type II memory card and therefore can fit in any CF II slot. This card is mostly used in professional digital cameras since it is almost the only devices having CompactFlash Type II slots.

Initially the Microdrive was introduced with the memory capacity of 170 MB and 340 MB, kind of unusual storage capacity, but letter on it adapted the regular memory card sizes like the other memory card standards. As of today the highest storage capacity available is 8 GB. It can be found in transfer speeds of up to 12 MB/sec.

In 2002 Hitachi bought the Microdrive business from IBM and is today the main manufacturer of Microdrive memory cards. They can also be found under other brand-names, like Sony, but are re-labelled and manufactured mostly by Hitachi. Seagate is another manufacturer, but calls its cards for CompactFlash hard drives, for getting around the Microdrive trademark, but work exactly the same way as the Microdrive.

It was designed for offering larger storage capacity and for being a cheaper alternative than the flash based memory cards. But Microdrive has many disadvantages compared to flash memory cards. The Microdrive’s large form factor, low durability, low reliability, high power consumption and low transfer speed are its biggest disadvantages. The fast development in the flash memory card industry contributed also to the fact that flash memory cards are in some cases cheaper. It is expected that in the near future the Microdrive memory card will be out of the market due its size and the lack of CompactFlash Type II slots.

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