SanDisk Imagemate Card Reader: Simple yet Effective

I originally used the card reader attached to my HP Photosmart printer to transfer files, however, it was too slow. I came across the SanDisk Imagemate card reader and thought it might be a little faster.

Wrong. It was a LOT faster. Hooking up the card reader was easy and I got it up and running in only 5 minutes. It comes with a standard USB connector to plug into your USB ports at the back of your computer, or a USB hub if you have one. The computer should automatically recognize the reader and it will install the device immediately.

The computer basically recognizes the card reader as a separate drive. My computer "sees" the reader as Drive E. This is advantageous as you can just drag and drop files from your computer to the flash memory.

The reader accepts both Smartmedia and CompactFlash (type 1 and type 2, both types of thickness). Placing the cards in the slots is a bit tricky at first, as you have to place them upside down into the slot. There are three lights on the device: one for power, and two for status of the slots. If you have inserted the card correctly, the green light should turn on. When you are transferring files, the light will flash.

The packaged CD includes the drivers for the device. However, if you have Windows XP, then the drivers should be built in and you will have no need for the CD.

This device is perfect for people who have digital cameras and/or PDA handhelds. By using this card reader, you won't have to transfer digital photos from your camera, saving battery power. For the people with PDAs, the flash memory supports most files (i.e. word docs, mp3s, videos, etc.).