Crucial 6-in1 Portable Card Reader
With a name like Crucial anything you bring on the market assumes a greater necessity.
I must admit that their products cover indeed some real crucial areas in a road warrior’s life.
With the proliferation of storage card media of different shapes and sizes a card reader that can accommodate them all has become an absolute necessity.
Is this 6-in-1 going to be part of your travelling circus?
I had wanted to standardize the storage media of all my gadgets for a long time.
I have given up though.
CompactFlash has been around “forever” it seems, has the biggest capacities (we're shipping Gigabytes already), is packaged in a small and sturdy format but, incredibly as it must have sounded a couple of years ago, it way too big for many small gadgets now!
Even the tiny SD card that sits comfortably in the top of my iPAQ is already too big for mobile phone use so now a mini SD card has entered the market.
I had eyed some nice and very compact digital cameras but because they didn’t have CF cards but Memory Sticks, I didn’t want to know them.
However, with the appearance of multi-format card readers, from the simple PCMCIA - CF adapter to 6-in-1 gizmos, that excuse doesn’t wash anymore.
Let’s see what’s in the box when you order this beauty from Crucial.
It’s always good to get more than you strictly need. That applies to what’s in the box and applies to the card reader itself as well.
The package has a CD with drivers if you run anything other than XP and a multi-language brief installation guide, which again, is not necessary for XP users. (Folks, make life easy on yourself and upgrade to XP if you can!)
There’s also a 4 feet (1.2m) USB extension cable in case you need to reach some USB port at the back of beyond…
The most important item in the box comes cocooned in bubble wrap and protects the slick, silvery card reader.
Top marks for design, I mumble as I balance the very lightweight device in my hand. The short USB cable is neatly tucked away in a hinged compartment, no sharp edges, perfect for sliding into your shirt pocket. I would still put a protective plastic sleeve around it though to cover the card slots. You don’t want any crumbs finding their way into those sensitive slots!
When I plugged in the reader I was pleased that Windows XP immediately recognized the new USB device and Explorer showed 4 more Removable Drives (the four slots accommodate six different formats).
Initially, when I plugged in the cards nothing happened. It was only when I let Windows discover the new hardware with the card inserted that it recognized the card. It gave me some moments of angst. If you see the red access light flickering you know that joy is close at hand! It would be nice to have a brief instruction leaflet included with the device. There isn’t a heck of a lot to explain though and curiosity is a good thing… You’ll figure it all out eventually!
I tested the device with SD and CF cards.
Even though this particular reader only handles transfers at USB 1.1 speeds, for me that was plenty fast.
I’ll give you an example. To transfer 15MB of pix to the CF card took less than 50 sec.
Using the reader will undoubtedly also save you money in batteries when you transfer photos from your camera to the computer.
Formats supported are CompactFlash, SmartMedia and Memorystick, MultiMediaCard, MicroDrive and Secure Digital.
Verdict:
The only valid criterion is: am I happy with it?
The answer is an unequivocal Yes!
No longer need I be afraid of devices which have different storage media. Bring ‘m on!
If I need to transfer files to someone else’s computer or device, this is an effortless way of doing it. Just drag and drop.
The Crucial 6-in-1 looks great, weighs nothing (less than 40 grams - just over 1 oz) and is priced right.
Compliance with the new USB 2.0 speeds.
Inclusion of xD card compatibility.
Some basic instruction leaflet and plastic protective sleeve or hinge for the slots.
Buy it from Crucial here (www.crucial.com) for just under US$40.
If your needs are better met with any of their other card readers, they vary from $20 to $50 (see comparative table below).
And while you’re at it, have a look at the memory choices they offer!
I haven’t done a price check on them put I venture to say that their site and policies back up their reputation.
I’m in the market for some high-capacity SD memory so I might put my money where my mouth is…
And if you’re interested I might do a comparative review on some new hi-end memory.
Just give me a few weeks while I finish a few other reviews.
Note: all are USB 1.1-compliant.
Crucial® USB 6-in-1 Card Reader
- Four slots, compatible with six memory cards - MultiMediaCard, CompactFlash, SmartMedia™, Secure Digital™, Memory Stick™, and MicroDrive™
- Sturdy design and stop pads to prevent sliding during operation
- Drag-and-drop data transfer between memory cards
- US$49.99
Crucial USB Portable 6-in-1 Card Reader (this is the one reviewed above)
- Four slots, compatible with six memory cards - MultiMediaCard, CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, and MicroDrive
- Lightweight and compact for easy mobility (Dimensions: 4.5" x 2.5" x 0.4")
- Hideaway USB extension cable for quick and easy access to desktop or notebook
- Drag-and-drop data transfer between memory cards
- US$39.99
Crucial USB Secure Digital/MultiMediaCard Reader
- Compatible with Secure Digital and MultiMediaCard memory cards
- Lightweight and compact for easy transportation
- Currently priced at US$29.99
Crucial USB CompactFlash Reader
- Compatible with CompactFlash memory cards
- Lightweight and compact for easy mobility
- US$19.99
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