Eforcity Clear Blue USB Memory Card Reader for Compact Flash CF I, CF II, CF Ultra II / MicroDrive / Smart Media Card / xD / Secure Digital: SD, SDC

Manufacturer : Eforcity In Stock : 3 List Price: $39.99 Price: $5.82 You Save: $34.17 (85%) Quantity : 1 2 3

Features

• Features and Specifications
• Hot-Swappable, Plug and Play, Supports Windows XP, 2000, 98, and Mac OS 9.2 and higher
• Installation tip: The driver CD is only needed for Windows 98. Otherwise, just plug in the device and it will install automatically.
• Compatible with: Compact Flash CF I, CF II, CF Ultra II / MicroDrive / Smart Media Card / xD / Secure Digital: SD, SDC, SD Ultra, miniSD
• Ideal for portable use - at home or on the road, desktop or laptop, your data will be ready.

Product Description

This USB 2.0 memory card reader is the ideal companion for your digital media. Avoid the hassle of moving photos, music, data and more between multiple media platforms.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating of 3.00 out of 22 reviews

Rating :
Works reliably but not as described - Wayne Robey, Sep 24, 2009

The device sold by eforcity is a white box no name adapter. It is not made by eforcity. The clear blue housing and circuit card was misaligned on 2 of 2 that I purchased. The case is easily separated into halves then the card slots can be filed so the cards are easily inserted. The card seems well made and because the case is clear, you can watch carefully when you insert the memory card to see that it is properly aligned. The description falsely says that a software CD is included for Windows 98. eforcity knows nothing of any software but the listing continues to say that it is included in the package. I found a driver. Look for ChipsBankUmss.inf this seems to be a rather general driver package. Although the description says it is for USB 2.0, it works fine with a USB 1.1 hub.

Bargincell also sells a device from this listing. It is smaller, has slots for micro cards as well and is not misaligned. It also does not have the advertised software and Bargincell knows nothing of any software. I sent mine back before finding the above mentioned driver package but suspect that it will work on this device too.




Rating :
Only One Complaint... - Lisa G. Cunningham, Sep 17, 2009

I got this reader because it advertised that it could read xD cards and SD cards...

The reader worked perfectly with my xD card, but my SD card doesn't fit into any of the slots. This really ticked me off because the writing on the actual case says "SD card 4" or whatnot... and that's what my card is... only it doens't fit into the slot. I thought perhaps, that the plastic that was inside the case was a protective barrier, so I popped open the case and realised that was a terrile idea and popped it back on.

The reader still works, read my xD card, but my SD card won't fit in it. I've had three people try it, and no one can get it to fit and no one knows what that extra slot is for, if not for the SD card.

*ugh*


Rating :
DO NOT BUY! - Nancy A. Snyder, Aug 19, 2009

I was drawn to this item because of its cheap price and the many different cards it worked with. Well, I used it once and the next time I tried it wouldn't work. After reading some of the reviews on Amazon about how the USB cord was bad, I tried another I had lying around. Low and behold, it worked. I emailed the company asking for the cord to be replaced, and they won't do anything about it. This is a reoccurring issue and the company knows it, but is unwilling to replace their faulty product. Buy another brand for a couple more dollars. You'll be glad that you did.


Rating :
Fully meets my needs and expectations - A. Dent, Aug 06, 2009

I am positively impressed by this inexpensive 'all-in-one' card reader.

For reasons unknown, my Sony A-100 camera, while perfectly happy with a 16GB 133X Compact Flash card was not able to upload the pictures to my computer via Sony's PROPRIETARY USB-like cable. For reasons unknown, and I blame Sony, Vista could not read the CF card and claimed that the 'disc' had to be formatted. This is where this little device comes to the rescue. Once connected to my computer through a STANDARD USB cable (supplied) and once the CF card was inserted in the reader, I could copy back and forth without a problem. Case solved. Thank you whomever you people who make these readers, it was the best 'less than a dollar' investment I've ever made. And, shame on you, Sony. I will continue to love your products but in this specific case, you clearly dropped the ball.

Here are specs:

- Mini-B USB 2.0 interface
- OS supported: Windows 98/2000/XP, Mac OS V9.2 or higher [Vista is not listed but it worked fine on my machine]
- Cards supported: Compact Flash/Micro Drive/Smart, Media/Multimedia/Secure Digital Card/Memory Stick/Memory Stick PRO/xD Picture
- Read speed 4.3 Mbps
- Write speed 1.3 Mbps

What you get (or not):

- The card reader itself
- 1-foot USB cable
- Specs sheet
- No manual

This is what I like about this product:

- Excellent, almost amazing I/O performance. In a real-life benchmark, it copied 233MB (89 pictures) in 16 (sixteen) seconds. This was from a Kingston 16GB CompactFLASH 133X card card. I wish my camera was that quick reading the card.
- The fact that, for less than one dollar (plus S&H, of course) you even get a little USB wire.
- The 'naked' or transparent styling of the case. Some may not appreciate the geekish look but I do.
- Automatically recognized by Vista even though Vista wasn't even on the list of supported OSes.

Issues and concerns:

For the price, not too many but, here they are.

- Must be careful when inserting the CF or MicroDrive cards. There are 'guides' that should help your card glide and insert itself into the proper pins but I can see how, if doing it in a hurry, you could bend the pins and then... you'll probably have to buy another one. The other 3 interfaces appear to be a little less fragile because they don't have pins.
- I only tested the Compact Flash and the MicroDrive cards. I can't tell if the other interfaces work as well.
- The red 'power on' LED showed me that the reader was properly interfacing with my computer but the LED that would have shown the CF card being in did not light up. It didn't make a difference to me but I don't know if this should be viewed as a defect or not.
- I saw no warranty statement of any kind but... should I expect one on something this cheap?
- I had no need to call for support and there is no support phone number anywhere but there IS a Web site which points to a directory tree whose branches are either locked up or empty. It's possible that the company is no longer in business and the reason we are getting this stuff this cheap is because it's post going out of business leftovers.

Rating:

Even considering the concerns I listed above, it gets 5 stars without hesitation. This reader didn't quite save my life but it did help me save a few memories of my past life.


Rating :
Great piece of mini hardware - Kernunnos13, Jul 28, 2009

I got this for use with my laptop, so that I could pull and put information on various flash cards. This works very well for my needs. It is truly small, and fits very easily into my laptop case. Just connect via the USB cord, and your compture is reading the card information.

Quick and easy.

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