Affordable USB 2.0 Hi-Speed universal card reader
Lacie's new 6-in-1 Media Reader is one of the smallest and neatest designs we've seen yet. It's USB2.0 Hi-Speed compatible too and only £19+VAT.
Placed next to the USB connector and a
Sony Memory Stick for scale you can see
Lacie's 6-in-1 Media Reader is very compact
Hi-Speed USB 2.0 card readers are only just appearing on the market in large numbers. Until recently if you wanted a high speed media reader you'd have to settle for an IEEE1394 Firewire compatible one. Firewire is often standard on Apple Macs, but few PCs have Firewire as standard. On the other hand, USB 2.0 is rapidly becoming a standard fitment on PCs. We're currnetly witnessing some distinct memory card read/write performance improvements which further underline the sense of investing in a fast media reader.
Lacie's new compact and slim-line 6-in-1 (Compact Flash I/II and Microdrive, SD/MMC, SmartMedia and Sony Memory Stick) universal media reader is less than half the price of the model it replaces and that couldn't boast a high speed USB 2.0 interface. Unfortunately, this version of the Lacie Media Reader is not compatible with Sony's new Memory Stick Pro cards.
A rather nice set of custom icons is provided
if you you are running Windows 98SE or Windows
2000 but you won't see these if you're running
Windows ME or XP
Installation is fairly straightforward, though we've seen better documentation than that provided by Lacie. The reader itself has only one cable socket, which is for the USB lead. This lead handles both data and power requirements. The supplied lead looks rather cheap and doesn't have the luxury of an interference suppressing ferrite ring. The mini-connector used is the same as that of many digital cameras, so you could use a better quality cable from your camera.
When either a Sony Memory Stick or Compact
Flash card are inserted they remain sticking
out quite far
The top pair of slots take compact flash and Sony Memory Stick cards respectively and the bottom two, SD/MMC and SmartMedia. The only commonly used memory card platform not supported is the new ultra-compact xD format, though a compact flash adapter is available.
SD/MMC and SmartMedia cards only stick
out a little
None of the slots have spring-loading or any mechanical insertion or extraction aids, though this didn't present us with any practical problems. CF and MS cards stick out quite a way, but the SD/MMC and Smartmedia cards are less proud once inserted. Besides individual access to each card slot, you can copy from one card to another.
Data transfer activity is indicated by a single lamp flickering red. Otherwise it glows a steady green to indicate the reader is connected and powered up. However, there is no individual actvity light for each slot and the lamp is rather dim.
The rear of the card is bare apart from the mini
USB connector and there is no optional power socket
Conclusion
Lacie’s 6-in-1 Media Reader is compact, well made, stylish and does what it’s supposed to do. The only outstanding question is whether or not it is Sony Memory Stick Pro compatible, but as soon as we find the answer to this we will update this review. This is the first USB 2.0 media card reader we have reviewed and unless you specifically need Memory Stick Pro compatibility, it's superb value.
The good things:
Excellent value
Compact
Looks and feels well designed and constructed
Pretty custom drive icons for Windows SE and XP
The not so good things:
Supplied USB cable is cheap and cheerful
Documentation could be improved
Data activity light rather dim and doesn't tell you which card is active
No pretty custom drive icons for Windows ME or XP
No Sony Memory Stick Pro compatibility
Our rating: RECOMMENDED
Price: £19+VAT (£22.33 inc.VAT)
Specifications:
Card compatibility: CF I/II/Microdrive, SD/MMC, Sony MS (not Pro), SmartMedia
Connectivity: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed 480Mbits/sec max (backwards compatible with USB 1.1 but at slower 12Mbits/sec max data rate.
Power: USB connection
Construction: Metal case
Weight: 190g
Dimensions: 105x60x17mm
Provided driver support: Windows 98SE, 2000, (Windows ME/XP plug and play compatible without third party driver), Mac OS 9.x, (Apple Mac OS 10.x plug and play compatible without third party driver).
Lacie home page: www.lacie.co.uk
