Customer Reviews

SanDisk Cruzer with 256 MB Secure Digital Memory

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Well...It started out being great. It saved me a lot of hassles moving large files back and forth between different computers during a business trip to the UK (Sept-Oct). In late November it started going south on me. Today it finally failed (Jan 23).

The memory card wouldn't seat, or lost connection when you slid the USB plug out (which also moves the card forward) - when set to the operating position it stopped working! At first, gentle pressure on the card helped. The more force. Then force applied with a blunt instrument. And finally nothing.

This device has a serious design fault. If the card could stay in place while the housing retracted to reveal the plug, it would work better, longer. SanDisk did it backwards.

Look for a device that doesn't move the memory card. Less cute, more work.

SanDisk says they'll replace it -- what I really need is a better device.

I first saw the Cruzer in a retail store and was immediately blown away at the value. In this case, they were selling it at $10 bellow the price of the SD memory card itself. I kept wondering why anyone would buy the card by itself, when they could get the Cruzer with the same exact card included in the box.

I've seen quite a few pocket sized memory drives out there, but thus far this was the only one I've ever seen that used regular removable memory cards.

Prior to getting the Cruzer, I used to load things into my PDA via the cradle. I took it for granted that it was slow. I assumed it was the nature of the beast. When I popped the card into the Cruzer, it copied information so fast I couldn't believe it was actually working. I double checked... the files were there and intact and it was done in seconds, not minutes.

That said, I have two issues.

1. I had to return my first Cruzer because it was from a bad batch of cards. SanDisk knew about the batch and was happy to replace it.

2. It's USB 1.1, not 2.0. I'm not sure if the card would work any faster under 2.0, but if it does, I would buy it.

The bottom line:

1. If you were shopping for memory alone, buy this instead. The price is almost identical, and you'll get both the drive and the memory card in the same box.

2. If you were shopping for a pocket drive, consider this one. It's got plenty of memory, and you can remove it.

I use the SD card in my Palm (m505) with considerable success and am happy with it from a pure PDA expansion perspective. I have found that the Cruzer drive is unreliable, usually Windows sees it as "write only" which means the Cruzer is only useful to read what I can put on the card using the Palm. (I have checked the write protect slide on the card). This means I cannot use it to transport files, keep personal backups, etc. SanDisk tech support were very helpful and responsive, since I have been handed over to "customer relations", I have heard nothing in over a week.

It is about the size of your thumb and weighs half as much. So, when I first saw it (and felt it - all two ounces of it), I didn't give this much hope.

But, like most SanDisk products, it is great.

Setting it up requires no more computer skills than being able to pop it into a USB port. And, that's it! All set and raring to go.

The 256 holds the data that could fit on approximately 170 floppy disks. And when you take into consideration the cost, the size and the convenience, this baby is worth every cent.

So, if you need to have an Iomega Zip (they still crank out the 256) and want the added bother of power cords and space to put the drive, then go that way. But if you want something that is light, portable and works like a charm - this is the only way to go.

This 256md SD card is great for storing MP3's, Maps, E-Books etc.. With my MP's compressed at 96kbps i'm able to store up to ... cd's and still have space for [many] e-books and serveral maps of my surrounding area. The plus is that it comes with a USB adapter that lets you transfer cd's back and forth easly. This is a must product for the new iPAQ's.

Pro: If you use Security Digital memory in your Digital Camara or PDA, then you're basically getting 2 items for the price of 1 package; you're getting a removable usb device as well as the expanded memory for your camara or PDA.

Well hidden USB head, no worry of damage the head or losing the cap like other USB flash memory.

Con: a little bulky. If you have front USB or extra unused USB slots pair, then you are in good shape, otherwise you will not be able to attach the head directly if the neighboring USB slot is being used - you need to use the extra cord that comes with the device which is inconvenient. With the SD memory so small compare to the whole device, I don't see why they can't make it a lot smaller.

[Poor quality] carrying case. Very poor, ... they should just forgo the case all together.

Overall, it's a great device, for those of you who need SD memory and USB flash memory, this is 2 birds with 1 stone.

The Cruzer works just as promised. Plugged into the USB port of my XP computer the Cruzer configured itself and added itself onto my "Explorer". From there it worked just like another removovable disk drive. The slider keeps the card and the USB plug safely tucked away when not in use. Simple but effective

Don't know why some people said they couldn't get it to work on their computer.
First tested it on my XP computer and downloaded files on another computer that has Win2000. Cruzer comes with a CD with drivers for Win98. Installed drivers on my Win 98 machine and it works great. I actually got Win 95 to recognize the removable drive and copied and downloaded files to that machine.
Just plug it in to a XP, Win2000 or ME computer and it automatically detects the cruzer.
What makes this product so nice? If your other toys (Digital or Video Camera) use the same type of memory card, you can interchange.

I was looking for the lowest price on a 256MB SD card for my new cell phone/Palm/MP3 player when I stumbled onto the Cruzer. What a great invention! I was able to download the songs I wanted almost instantly. With Windows XP, it took absolutely no setup...XP recognized it immediately. Total plug-n-play. Just today, I bought another SD card for the Cruzer to back up my important data. I am completely amazed by these little SD cards and how simple the Cruzer is to use. I was backing up my Quicken data to CD-RW, but now I'm just backing up to a SD card and sticking it with my receipts for safekeeping. This is a fantastic buy on a great product.

I bought the Cruzer for on-the-go backup of digital pictures (I take a lot of pictures when I travel and download them to the hard drive of my laptop). My laptop, a garden variety Dell Latitude C400 running Windows 2000, recognized the Cruzer at first, but then installation hung and the computer locked up. When I uninstalled everything and reinstalled, the whole operating system crashed and I had to reboot off the W2K CD and do a system repair. I sent 3 or 4 e-mails to Sandisk customer support over a three week perion and never received a response. Be wary of this one.