Customer Reviews

Lexar Media Single-Slot USB 2.0 Multi-Card Reader (Model RW023-001)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I got this media reader for $15, since I had a couple of 1GB SD cards for my digital camera, and I figured it'd be worth it to check it out for that amount, rather than spending $70-80 on a 1GB USB flash drive.

The media reader has a slide-and-flip-top compartment where you insert your Memory Stick/Pro, SD, xD, or MMC cards. It obviously has to be large enough to accomodate the largest of the aforementioned cards--if it were for only SD cards, they could've easily shortened the length by 25%.

On my Win2K system, the reader (with a SD card in it) got detected right away as a removable drive, without any user intervention or driver installation. With a basic SanDisk (blue) 1GB SD card, via USB2.0 port, I was able to achieve a download throughput of 6.5-7.5MB per second. In every other respect, it works just like any other USB flash drive.

The physical size of the reader is about twice as wide AND thick as a SanDisk Cruzer drive. Or as thick as a Zippo lighter and twice as wide. You get the idea. There is no keyring hole built into the shell, nor does it provide for carrying strap like the Cruzers. You simply just pocket it and go. The plastic used for the shell feels brittle and flimsy and door mechanism for the memory cards feels less than sturdy (metal pins under plastic hinges).

For $15, I think this is a great gadget, especially if you have a number of memory cards that are not required in your digital cameras all day long. What would've made it even better (5 stars), in my humble opinion, is some sort of provision to carry it around your neck or attached to the keyring. A minor detraction, to be sure: The reader part of it works flawlessly as advertised.

Update 2005-06-21: After three weeks of light use (used once daily), the plastic cap that protects the USB connector on the reader is already failing to stay on. This reinforces my perception that while the actual reader itself works excellently, the physical design leaves much to be desired.

I purchased this memory card reader for use with my digital camera's memory stick Pro. The reader does not have any kind of spring-loaded memory stick eject, or any eject button. You just have to pull the card out with your fingers. When a memory stick pro is fully inserted into the reader, the plastic edges of the reader are wider and longer than the card. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to grab onto the memory card - even with my tiny fingers. For someone who intends to use the reader with a card more-or-less permanently installed - it should be fine. The reader will close shut safely around the card. However, if you will need to insert and remove cards frequently, I DO NOT recommend this device. In my case, this physical design flaw makes the reader useless to me. I should note that although the plastic case design feels flimsy, it does open and close easily.

I gave it 2 stars because it DOES actually work for transferring data, and will suit the needs of SOME users.

I've had this for at least 8 months now. We've used it with xD, sD, Memory Stick Pro, Pro Duo(with the adapter) and a few misc. cards that friends' cameras may be using.

I've never had a problem getting cards in or out, nor any problems with reading the data on them.

My only possible complaint is that the cap for the usb connector doesn't stay on as well as I'd like or have a place to store it while the device is in use. Short of that, I can't place a single complaint about the unit. It has been a well spent $20!

I bought this for easy transfer of pictures from my digital camera with SD memory card anywhere not home and sometimes from other peoples memory card (xD and memory stick)..

First of all I was disappointed with the flimsy, plastic design and the size of it. But it would have been ok if it worked!..IT DOESNT READ my SD card. And as menetioned in other people's review hard to insert and take out the cards! I'm scared if the cards get scratch and ruined whenever i do it. I wish I have bought this after reading amazon reviews...it's useless now. I'm lost how I can get sd card work on this and if I do, scared of frequent use for the flimsy design.

I used to bring CD's with utilities and diagnostic software on them when making a PC repair house call. I got a Lexar jumpdrive trio and started putting this software on flash memory. It fits into a small toolkit which is easy to carry. I Bought this reader to replace the jumpdrive trio I own. It is perfect for memory sticks, but the cover doesn't stay closed when using SD Card. A minor incovenience to be sure, but it cheapens the feel of the product. That notwithstanding, the price makes it a better choice than portable mechanical hard drives which are subject to physical damage in transport.

I had one before and I thought it was the shisnk; however, this one is not good at all. someone tell me why this one is harder to use.

On the positive side this multi-card reader (RW023-001) is advertised as being able to recognize XD - picture cards and it also recognized the SDHC card that I have, while an earlier model JumpDrive Trio (JDT, rev C) did neither of these things. On the negative side, this newer model did not close completely when an SD card was placed inside of it. It seems some dimensional tolerances are not quite right. I tried several different manufacturer's SD cards. However, the SD card was still able to be read, if firmly seated electrically. It still seemed rather odd that the flip up lid would only partially close but then not slide tight as it did with the JDT model.

I replaced my lost Lexar multi-card reader with the same model because I couldn't find anything better. It's the only compact, single-slot card reader that I've found that works with every card I use: Memory Stick, SD, SDHC, MMC, and Fuji's xD-Picture. Those constraints make it a little bulky (has to be wide enough for xD, long enough for memory stick) but it's still small enough to carry around in a laptop bag. It's great to know that whatever type of camera your friends have, this gadget can read its card.

Be aware, this reader, although it works, it will NOT read HDSD cards, it is ONLY able to read the OLDER SD cards (ie - those smaller than 4gig)

I goofed, and did not read closely enough - and now have reader that will not work with the cards I need to use it with. Mea culpa, but hopefully this review will keep folks from buying this reader thinking it will read the modern, larger HDSD cards

Bottom line, this is obsolete technology. Get something like the BlueProton or any other card reader that IS compatable with the newer standard

John

This item works fairly well for its intended purpose. I returned it for two reasons: first, the flip-open access panel is made of such thin and wobbly plastic that it is fairly certain to malfunction; second, the cap won't stay on. Because of its crackerjack-toy quality, it was returned immediately for refund.
Transcend P5 9-in-1 USB 2.0 Flash Memory Card Reader TS-RDP5K (Black)CTCstore 10-in-1 USB 2.0 High Speed Memory Card Reader Writer for SD SDHC MiniSD MiniSDHC MMC rsMMC - Purple