Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75112 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: ByteStor
• Released on: 2004-01-22

Manufacturer's Description
If you own digital appliances that use different flash memory types, the ByteStor 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader is for you. This compact media reader reads and writes to SmartMedia, CompactFlash, Memory Stick, Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard and IBM Microdrive memory cards from one unit.

Use the ByteStor 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader to transfer photographs from your digital camera, songs from your portable music player, movies or still images from your digital video camcorder and more. It eliminates the hassle of disconnecting printers, modems or other peripherals from your computer to upload files from digital devices.

Direct cable connections can drain the batteries from your digital appliances as you transfer data. Use the card instead to extend the battery life of your digital appliances. The card reader is powered by your computer, so it doesn't require its own external power source.

The ByteStor 7-in-1 Memory Card Reader is a mass storage device, which means that no software installation is required on systems using Windows 2000, ME or XP and Macintosh OS 10 1.2 and higher. Just plug it in and it's ready to use. Driver installation for other operating systems takes just a minute or two.

Customer Reviews

Laptop user's dream - versatile, compact & flexible
I purchased this reader to replace the Kodak USB Picture Card Reader which came with my DC3800 camera but isn't compatible with OS 10.3 (Panther) on my Apple PowerBook G4 12".

There isn't much space between the USB connectors on my laptop and most of the readers I looked at were either physically bulky (no good for travelling) or had wide USB connectors which would mean disconnecting other USB devices to use the reader.

Happily, the ByteStor 7-in-1 solves both problems by being very slim (1cm thick?) and having a very short (2cm?) USB cable tucked into the back. It's flexible enough that it doesn't interfere with other connectors and there's a USB extension cable included for those whose USB ports are on their desktop machine (or for extending the reach of your USB mouse if its cable isn't very long).

I hadn't realised from the photo that there are actually FOUR slots on this reader: CF & MS on the top, SM, SD/mmc underneath. Considering the compact size of the unit it's quite a feat of engineering.

I've only used the CF slot but it was noticeably faster than the Kodak USB Reader it replaced. No software installation required - the CF card mounted as a drive on the desktop as soon as I inserted the card (the other slots didn't come up with 'empty' drives - must be a Windows thing?)

Build quality? Feels solid enough to me. I doubt I'd have a problem carrying it around in my laptop bag or even in a pocket. With a decent sized card you could happily use this as a mini-drive to carry your files around on. I teach IT & I'd be happy to let my kids use the reader to download photos in class.

Excellent Value
This card reader is excellent value for money. Installation is quick and problem free (windows xp home) and it works right away. I have only used the memory stick and compact flash slots but I am sure, they all perform equally well. The build quality seems good enough and the cable is put away neatly at the back when not in use (has to be used in conjunction with an extension lead which is supplied). Definitely worth buying if you have different media formats and need to transfer data frequently and especially conveniently.

Good try at this price but...
At this price, this is possibly the cheapest memory card reader around. I use it predominantly for my SD cards used in my PDA and digital camera.

No setup required, just plug in and start transferring files between the cards and the computer.

There are three shortfalls that I don't quite like, which is why I gave it 3 stars:

1. Build quality - it's a bit plastic-ky, plus the slots are not protected from nature's elements so dust can get into the circuitry very easily (it's also got see-through casing). Remedy: keep it in your drawer if you are not using it.

2. SD card hard to take out once inside the device - it doesn't have spring-loaded mechanism to eject the cards, you have to slot in the cards and pull them out from the slots manually . I have no long nails so it's a bit tricky to get the card out (SD cards are extremely thin and small). On occasions I managed to use too much force to yank out the little postage stamp-size card, I ended up with the card flying across my desk (over my cup of tea and my lunch!). Remedy: keep all food and drinks away from the desk while you are doing this!

3. Crash my computer (running Windows 2000 Professional): Who would have thought by just accessing the tiny cards this can bring down a computer running perhaps one of the most robust operating system around? Apparently my computer had difficulties accessing one of the directories my PDA has created on the card, it crashed Windows 2000, sending it into reboot. I have never come across such thing, luckily my other computer (Windows XP) has not problems in doing so. Remedy: Make sure you have nothing else running except Windows Explorer (to access/transfer the files), unless you want to risk your work...

All in all, not bad for the price. Useful if you want a cheap (or a second) device to transfer files at work/home.