Introduction

After my Crucial USB memory card reader failed to work with Windows XP, I began the search for a serious reader that was designed to really work, regardless of price. I only use CompactFlash cards, so I didn't need a multi-format reader. After reading through a lot of reviews, I couldn't find any particular brand that really stood out. I finally decided to try this LaCie reader because I've had good experiences with the LaCie brand name in the past. As it turns out, this reader is no exception.

Features

- Interface: USB
- Media Compatibility: CompactFlash Type I, CompactFlash Type II, Microdrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo, SD Memory Card, MultiMedia Card
- Transfer rate: up to 480Mbps (USB 2.0), 12Mbps (USB 1.1)
- Weight: 85 g / 0.19 lbs
- Size (approx.): 4 inches X 2.25 inches X 0.5 inches
- System Requirements: Computer equipped with USB port
Windows 98/98 SE, Windows 2000, Windows Me, or Windows XP, Mac OS 8.6 and greater
- Warranty: 1 Year Limited Warranty

Included in the box is the memory card reader unit, a black USB cable, and a CD-ROM that contains drivers and manuals for Windows 98 and Windows 2000 (drivers are not required for most other operating systems). LaCie offers technical support and customer service through their website. My experience with their customer service in the past has been good.

Performance

Installation

On a Dell Dimension 8400 with Windows XP Service Pack 2, installation of this memory card reader was almost flawless. An error message saying that the device may not have been installed properly popped up when I first plugged the unit into one of the USB ports on the back of my computer. However, when I tried the reader for the first time, everything worked fine. After several months of use, I've only encountered the occasional "device has malfunctioned" error message from Windows. This is easily remedied by unpluging the reader and plugging it back in and then everything works fine. To me, this is a Windows issue and not a LaCie card reader issue, and it happens fairly infrequently.

On top of my computer, this very attractive memory card reader sits fairly flat and stays put, despite the lack of rubber feet on the bottom. Of course, it's still very light weight and needs to be held with a finger or two when a memory card is inserted. The brushed aluminum top and bottom probably give the unit some added durability (the sides are comprised of plastic). The red LED lets me know that the reader is working and being recognized by Windows. Although the included USB cable is a little short (about 3 feet), it's not really a problem since this reader is compact enough to be wedged in almost anywhere. The unit is powered by USB bus, so no AC adapter is included or needed. One less power block to take up space on my surge protector.

Reader Performance

After installation, I immediately noticed four new drive letters under the "device with removable storage" section of the "my computer" window on Windows XP. Each of these drives corresponds to one of four memory card slots on the front of the reader. Insert a memory card and you can browse through the files on it by clicking on the drive letter. I haven't had any problems with CompactFlash cards not being recognized, but I haven't tried any other types of memory cards in the other slots yet. To date, I've used both Viking and Lexar CompactFlash Type 1 cards in this reader. Unlike some other memory card readers I've tried, I can eject and insert new cards without asking Windows to first "safely remove hardware."

The CompactFlash card slot is tight; inserting and removing a card requires a little bit of push and pull. This will probably chance over time, but I haven't noticed this as much with other brands of memory card readers. This is my only complaint about this LaCie after several months of use, and it's really a minor complaint.

UPDATE: For no apparent reason, this reader began behaving strangely about a month ago. The drive indicator light goes off without warning and connectivity is lost. The connectivity can't be regained unless the computer is restarted. Restarting the computer isn't possible because the drive appears to be freezing some system process. So, I need to do a hard restart every time. Needless to say, I'm throwing this thing away and getting a new memory card reader. It should be noted that I run a very clean machine - no spyware, viruses, untested third party software, etc. My system spec is very fast and I keep my drives defragmented and my registry clean.

With USB 2.0, this is one fast drive. Read times are several times faster than the direct connection between my Nikon digital camera and my computer. I can download 100 MB of imagery data in just a few seconds. As I've noticed with other memory card readers with USB 2.0, the connection speed and read time are so fast that the limiting factor for data sizes less than 500 MB is how fast Windows XP can recognize the file types and display thumbnails. As is to be expected, write times are noticeably slower than read times, but still quick enough that I'm not getting up to make dinner when I'm writing half a gigabyte of imagery data. I offer only a qualitative description here because write times are very dependent on the speed of the different types, brands, and models of memory cards, and usually much less so on the memory card reader itself.

Conclusions

My search for a fast and reliable memory card reader is finally over. UPDATE: And it's NOT this one! Too unreliable with Windows XP.

Recommended: No