SanDisk Extreme USB 2.0 Card Reader
Wednesday, November 8th, 2006
It finally came in, I got it and I’m very pleased.
On my old G4 PowerBook I had a PCMCIA slot card reader that I loved: fast, stayed inside the machine, and inexpensive. Alas, this new MacBook Pro has an "ExpressCard/34 slot" (seen here to the right of the black USB cable) which won’t accept my old card reader.
The question is, USB 2.0 or firewire? I’m a great believer in firewire as it’s a faster protocol and while this machine does not support firewire 800 newer MacBook Pros do. Sandisk’s firewire equivalent of this card reader supports both firewire 400 and 800. The firewire model is $79 and lacks the second SD slot this reader has. However, for cards loaded with RAW images it might be enough faster to be worthwhile. I might end up with one of those too.
Here’s what’s great about this card reader:
* USB 2.0 is fast enough for most situations
* Second slot for SD cards, another popular digital media format
* Very light weight
* The small and light USB cable is the same as what comes with most cameras: the same male USB end that’s on the camera’s USB cable. This cable can double as the camera direct attach cable if you need to go that route.
* $24.
If you don’t have a card reader this is one to consider.
I saw a GE 9-in-1 USB 2.0 card reader at the Home Depot for probably the same price.
I’m not sure if the cable was built-in though. I was just surprised to see a card reader at the Home Depot :)
Mayank: this cable is not built in, the thing is small (I mean very small) and is spectacularly well designed in its simplicity. The cable is very thin and light too, like the cable that you connect your canon camera to your computer with, not like a typical USB cable.
Hi !
D oyou know if this reader support SD-HC memory cards ?
Thank you.
iota: I’m sorry, I don’t. I have regular SD cards and it works fine but if you check the Sandisk web site I’m sure you can find out there.