Abstract: A storage device 3, such as an SD card, that is coupled to a host device 2, such as a mobile phone, includes a computing environment 8. The computing environment 8 includes an application processing part 6, and a separate interface processing part 7. The application processing part 6 of the computing environment 8 is operable to execute one or more applications on the storage device 3. The interface processing part 7 of the computing environment 8 includes an interface processor that interfaces between a communications protocol used between the host device 2 and the storage device 3, and a communications protocol used by the application processor in the application processing part 6 of the storage device 3. The interface processor communicates with the application processor via interrupts and a shared memory 9.

Abstract: A distribution medium (20) for providing an application to a host system (4) includes an interface element (21) for interfacing with the host (4), a memory or storage module (22) that stores application code representing the application and a hardware element (23). The hardware element (23) directly accesses application content stored in the memory (22), processes that application content to transform it to another form, and then provides the transformed content to the host system (4).