Cruzer or 6-in-1 reader?

[Crystal Eitle]

Okay, I am just full of questions today.

Here is another: I'd like to get a card reader, mainly for the purpose of transferring files between work and home. Should I get a Sandisk Cruzer or the Sandisk 6-in-1 reader? (Or some other product/brand?) I use SD in my HP 1910, and the digital camera I'm looking at also uses SD.

I'm thinking the 6-in-1 reader looks like a better value, but I'm wondering about the size. Is it small enough to carry between home and work easily?

[robclif4d]

I have both. Actually, I bought the 6 in 1 yesterday and will use it from now on. The 6-1 is small. It comes with a stand that you can plug the reader into (kinda nice) or you can carry the reader unit around without the stand (a usb cable is also included if you don't want to carry around the stand). I keep the stand on my desk at work and hook up the reader with the included usb cable at home. My choice... 6 in 1.


Hope this helps.

Rob

[PetiteFlower]

Seems like the 6 in 1 is twice as much as a regular reader....are you going to use all 6 kinds of memory? Doesn't seem likely to me, especially since you have a 1910(right?) that only takes one kind of memory! Unless you're going to be using Memory Sticks or Smart Media, I would say it's not worth it.

[Crystal Eitle]

Seems like the 6 in 1 is twice as much as a regular reader....

Hey you're right! I did a little searching and found
this one (http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=561856/search=SD%2520card%2520reader/ut=cda7c77a11a709e2) for cheap! I think I'll get it. Thanks.

[PetiteFlower]

You can pick this up from a store for almost the same price too, Circuit City had it at $20, if you don't want to wait :)

[rberry88]

I bought the SD 6 in 1 memory reader about a month ago at Circuit City. I have a 5455 (PPC) with SD cards and CF cards, a Sony Clie (Palm) that uses memory sticks and a Sony Digicam that also uses memory sticks. It is alot easier to insert a memory stick and either a SD card or CF card into the reader and transfer pictures or mp3's between the stick and card(s) than it is to transfer the files (pictures, mp3's etc) to the computer and then transfer them to the appropriate card. Once the 6 in 1 reader is connected via USB to your PC it basically creates 4 - 6 drives on your computer so you can use Windows Explorer on your PC to just drag and drop files.

WARNING: Be carefull when deleting an entire contents of a card using the reader though. The reader does not format the cards and if you delete the whole card you will need to put it back into a device (PPC, Palm, camera etc) that is capable of formatting the card for you which most devices should be able to do anyway but just in case.

rberry :pimp:

[Crystal Eitle]

WARNING: Be carefull when deleting an entire contents of a card using the reader though. The reader does not format the cards and if you delete the whole card you will need to put it back into a device (PPC, Palm, camera etc) that is capable of formatting the card for you which most devices should be able to do anyway but just in case.

Oh. :| Hmmm. I'm thinking of doing a hard reset on my iPaq, and I thought it would be a good idea to wipe out and reformat the memory card at the same time. I was hoping I could use the card reader to do this.

Another thread, I think, mentioned a PPC program that will reformat a memory card. Is using your PPC the only way to do it?

[dh]

Seems like the 6 in 1 is twice as much as a regular reader....

Hey you're right! I did a little searching and found
this one (http://pocketpcthoughts.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=561856/search=SD%2520card%2520reader/ut=cda7c77a11a709e2) for cheap! I think I'll get it. Thanks.

I bought the Sandisk reader just last night. I have not used it yet, will be loading a lot of music and movies to my new 1GB card this evening. (The 1GB card arrived from Dell today).

The Sandisk reader is ideal for me because I use SD and CF cards in my Axim and SD cards in my Kyocera camera.

[PetiteFlower]

I thought you could reformat a flash card just like any other drive on your PC--go to My Computer, right click the drive, select Format. I haven't tried it but the option is there.

I am very jealous of the 1G card though *sigh*

[Jacob]

If you're only going to use SD cards I'd go for the Cruzer.

I have the cruzer and it's really easy to just take it anywhere. I can format a SD card from my PC when the cruzer is plugged in - you don't need to use your 1910.

[st63z]

My Cruzer's always on my keychain everyday, quite useful. Wish they could've made it smaller though (maybe for the next gen -- smaller and USB2?). Iomega Active Disk support (which I suppose is patented :() built into the driver might be nice too.. for some software you might want to use like www.pocomail.com, etc.

[rberry88]

Hey PetiteFlower, I didn't even think about trying to format a SD, CF or Memory stick the same way you would format a floppy in the A drive, its got me curious now, too bad I'm at work. Has anyone tried this yet with any success?? I have the program 'Storage Tools' that I got from Handango.com that formats SD and CF cards on my PPC, and its fast too. For my memory sticks, I just stick them in my camera and it formats them quickly, unlike the Clie which takes about 4 minutes for a 128 MB stick.

I would really like to know if you can successfully format a SD, CF card or Memory stick using a card reader (of some sort) via a PC using the standard 'Format' command.

If possible then this could be a good addition to a virtual FAQ somewhere.

rberry :mrgreen:

[st63z]

^ Let me try to remember... IIRC my Win 2K/XP boxes always formatted my cards to FAT32 (which might be the default over a certain size capacity), which only a few digicam supports at this point.

Using the specialty PPC formatting apps also allow finer control over the parameters, namely cluster size -- it's a tradeoff between wasting more space vs. losing throughput or access time (don't remember) performance. I think I finally settled on a cluster size one level below default for a compromise...

[Janak Parekh]

Hey PetiteFlower, I didn't even think about trying to format a SD, CF or Memory stick the same way you would format a floppy in the A drive, its got me curious now, too bad I'm at work. Has anyone tried this yet with any success??
Yes - I'm kind of confused by your format comments actually - I've reformatted my flash cards on many occasions. It's like reformatting a Zip disk. :)

--janak

[rberry88]

By format via PC, I mean putting the card (CF, SD or memory stick) into the reader and opening the windows explorer window for that 'drive' and hitting FILE -> Format and formatting the card or stick. It sounds possible with some limitations (cluster size etc) but I was curious if it worked once you put it into your PPC. I have a blank 256 CF at home that I can try out later tonight.


rberry 0X

[PetiteFlower]

Well I figured since Windows recognizes it just like any other removable storage drive(floppy, CD, etc) then I should be able to treat the card just like any other removable storage disc right?

[Jacob]

Well I figured since Windows recognizes it just like any other removable storage drive(floppy, CD, etc) then I should be able to treat the card just like any other removable storage disc right?

Yes. You can format it just like you would a floppy. I think the only formats available are FAT or FAT32.

[Janak Parekh]

By format via PC, I mean putting the card (CF, SD or memory stick) into the reader and opening the windows explorer window for that 'drive' and hitting FILE -> Format and formatting the card or stick.
Yes, that's exactly what I do. The command-line tool also works.

It sounds possible with some limitations (cluster size etc)
Nah, it by default will use the same format that was there. With the right format program (like the one in XP, I believe) you can easily switch FAT to FAT32 and vice-versa.

--janak

[rberry88]

Cool,

Thanks, Janek, you're always full of wisdom that makes my life easier.
:alfdance:

rberry

[karen]

...I got the Cruzer with my new laptop in lieu of a floppy drive.

The Cruzer is nice, but I still went out an bought a 6 in 1 credit card sized reader. I did this because I want to be able to read any card someone hands me.

With all the floppy drives disappearing in laptops now, it's good to have a read everything 'drive' reader. At meetings someone will pass me their [whatever] card ad I can read it. You can't do that with a single format reader.

Something to consider, even if you still have a floppy drive.

Karen