Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsCompact and Great for Travel
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2013
I travel a lot and need to use a CAC reader for work often. This is the smallest option that I have found so far and it works perfectly. It is plug and play on Windows 7 and Windows 8 - I haven't tested on a Mac yet, but I would assume that it is plug and play on Macs as well.
The size of this item when folded up is roughly the size of your thumb and looks like a USB thumb drive. When you fold it out, the USB port is revealed and there is enough space to slide in the end of a smart card, with the fold out sides providing enough support to hold your card in place. It does take up a little bit of room though, so if you have other USB ports next to it, you probably will not be able to use those ports while this device is plugged in, so keep that in mind. When using this for travel, that isn't much of a problem, since something like a micro receiver for a wireless mouse can occupy an adjacent port without any issue. I would not recommend this for someone at home as much. This can easily be solved by using an extension USB cable, but there are other smart card readers out there that have long cables if you are looking for something more permanent for your desk.
The smart card reader also comes with a small dongle, similar to a cell phone charm. It is even attached the same way, through a small loop on the side of the device. The little dongle screws apart, so you can loop one end through the device and loop the other through something else (I loop it through a zipper pull inside my briefcase). It's a very elegant solution to keeping the smart card reader secure, where you need it. It can screw apart when you need to use it, and you can then reattach it to whatever the other end is attached to. Simple but effective, without the need for the additional bulk of a case. I really appreciate that, since I try to travel as light as possible.
I used to carry a smart card reader (SCR-3310) while traveling but now I just leave it attached to my computer at home. I didn't really need the cable length working from a laptop and the reduction of bulk for a power traveler is always appreciated. This smart card reader has the same functionality in a much more compact package. I highly recommend this product!
