Review - IOGear SD USB Reader
Unlike most of our DPBlogs bretheren, we at the StK household use SD media in our point & shoot camera, which is great because not only does my PDA use SD cards (which means I can use it as a photo album on the go) but our laptop also has an SD port on the front of it, making pulling our photos off a snap.
The problem is that our laptop has been a little wonky as of late, and only got worse after we sent it in to CompUSA to get fixed. One of the first things Amy noticed was that our originally functional SD slot on the laptop no longer did anything at all when we stuck the card in. All of this happened right as we were getting ready to leave on our trip. So, realizing that not having access to our photos wasn’t an option, I ran out to CompUSA to pick up a cheap card reader the morning we left. Read on for the review…
What I ended up buying was the IOGEAR Universal Memory Drive Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Memory Card Reader/Writer. It’s basically like every other thumb drive in form and features (you can fit it in your pocket and making it work is as simple as plugging it into a computer) but instead of being stuck with a set amount of storage on it, you can slip in your SD card from your camera or PDA and use the drive to access your data. The minute we plugged it in, we were going, and we couldn’t be happier. It seems that the USB 2.0 interface is faster than whatever we have built-in on the laptop, so we might even keeep using it once we get the machine fixed.
At $9.99, it’s about the same price as all of the other USB card readers out there, which means price shouldn’t be the deciding factor for most people when choosing a card reader. The actual plastics, while looking a little ugly, seem sturdy enough to handle most wear and tear. If you’re looking for something more stylish, IOGear has some other models that look cooler, and Lexar has a groovy puck-shaped multi-format reader for $15.99 - again, a steal.
Remember - you don’t have to only take photos off your storage cards - you can also put them back on as an easy way to quickly backup photos you’d like to take with you to the Grandparent’s house. So if you’re still stuck hooking your camera up to your computer via a cable, it’s time to look into a USB card reader to not only make you life easier, but to also give you some great backup storage solutions as well.
Responses and Conversations
I think the part I liked the best was where you said “wonky”. Webster Dictionary doesn’t tell you much about it, but it’s still an awesome word. Haha!
Comment by Mike on July 31st, 2006 at 6:35 am
Chris is a little “wonky” himself.
Comment by John Koontz on July 31st, 2006 at 8:47 am
I stumbled upon a similar product when I was perusing the bowels of Fry’s Electronics: the XtraDrive by MediaGear. The XtraDrive also has a thumb drive form factor and I’ve found it very convenient to use. I bought mine for about $10 too. I really like being able to pull the card out of the thumb drive use it in my PDA and vice versa. I’ve had this drive for about 8 months now and I still use it all the time. I’m happy to see there is more competition in this space. It’s a very handy product.
Comment by Christoph Neumann on August 1st, 2006 at 8:54 am
Is there a card reader like this for Compact Flash Cards? I have no good way of reading my CF cards on my laptop. There’s a great built-in slot on our desktop, but that’s no good on the road.
Comment by Stephanie Simpson on August 1st, 2006 at 4:27 pm
I use the Lexar USB 2.0 CF reader for a variety of reasons.
Unfortuntely, CF being so big, you can’t get something as svelte as the IOGear Pocket Card Readers.
Comment by terry chay on August 4th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
I purchased a SanDisc 4 GB SDHC card for my camera. At the time it did not occur to me that neither my SanDisc Image Mate 6 in 1 nor my SIIG 18-in-1 Reader/Writer would not be able to read this new version of Secure Digital. Long story short-I called IOGear tech support and was assured that this reader would work although netiher their promotional materails nor their packaging indicates that it will. Bottom Line: It works and it was a very inexpensive ($10 at CompUSA) solution to my problem.
Comment by Paul Robbins on February 25th, 2007 at 5:28 pm