Comments on: Stowaway Portable Keyboard Review

By: jack

jack — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:34:41 +0000

Is it possible to modify the connector to be attached to a mini-USB cable which then inserted to a PDA with mini-USB port?

By: ozzy

ozzy — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:50:15 +0000

i have a blackberry 8300 and i caint pair it up with the ultra slim folding keyboard any help

By: Sneezer

Sneezer — Wed, 29 Jan 2003 19:48:23 +0000

This particular model has been discontinued. The newer one supports USB2.0 speeds, I believe. This model, which I also have, has been on the market for the last year or so. A lot of people have rated it as one of the better ones out there, and the OnDVD software is pretty neat too. Although I do not use MS products as a matter of principle, I have noticed several instances of other people having problems with MS readers, especially third party MS.

The CompUSA reader is a rebranded PQI reader. PNY also sells a version. Small and lightweight, although the read/write speeds on either the CF or SM slots is atrocious. I just can’t remember which one.

By: kwest97

kwest97 — Wed, 29 Jan 2003 15:31:25 +0000

I picked up a very compact 4-1 card reader from CompUSA. It is their brand and goes nicely for laptop travel. It is about as flat as a cigarette case or a Palm :=)

By: _Q_

_Q_ — Wed, 29 Jan 2003 00:05:10 +0000

Here’s another one that I hadn’t seen before today:

http://www.mobileplanet.com/product.asp?dept_id=1440&pf_id=MP601022&listing=1&src=IN314&mn_email=dmmeyer@email.com

No indication if it supports simultaneous use of multiple cards, but it’s worth checking.

By: Whiterabbit

Whiterabbit — Tue, 28 Jan 2003 18:23:02 +0000

Hey everyone. I think I have found the Best Multi Card Reader. It is Made by SanDisk and is USB 2.0! I have been using it for a while and it is great. You can see the web page here Sandisk ImageMate. I got mine at a Local Fry’s Electronics, but they might be available at Best Buy too

By: sixty-four

sixty-four — Mon, 27 Jan 2003 14:18:11 +0000

I bought the reviewed reader in February 2002 and it failed completely on me in December 2002. Needless to say, I’m pretty disappointed in this product.

While it was working, I disliked the way it appeared to “poll” its slots to see if any removable media was present. This seemed to be indicated by the flashing green LED. Normally this shouldn’t be that big a big deal, but I’m a big-time gaming geek and whenever the reader would poll, certain games would stutter badly. For other day-to-day computing activities, this stutter was either nonexistent or imperceivable.

I recently bought this Smartdisk reader and have been happy with it so far. It does share the same shared slot design as the Dazzle reader but that awful game stutter is gone. The only negative of the Smartdisk reader is that CF cards are a little hard to insert. It seems that I have to fish around a bit to plug my CF cards into this reader.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 25 Jan 2003 04:20:07 +0000

6-1 check out ibiz, they just came out with a 7-1 now we are talking!!! http://www.palminfocenter.com/view_story.asp?ID=4895

By: Peter K.

Peter K. — Sat, 25 Jan 2003 01:47:43 +0000

I don’t have the definitive answer, either Julie. But I suspect the DM-21200 is the newer or current model, since it’s the only 6-in-1 Universal reader on Dazzle’s website/webstore.

Also, I purchased the DM-21200 from Amazon:

DM-21200 @ Amazon

Also at Amazon, a listing of Dazzle’s products reveals the following:

List of Dazzle products

The DM-21200 is listed at #4. More interesting though is the icon/notation instead of the usual thumbnail of the product:

“New Item Picture Coming Soon”

So, going strictly by the manufacturer’s website, I’d guess the DM-21200 is the latest model. Coupled with the anecdotal evidence at Amazon (which is far from scientific), my guess is that the DM-8400 (reviewed here at The Gadgeteer) is no longer current. Which does not make it obsolete.

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 25 Jan 2003 01:26:44 +0000

I’m confused… Jim from StylusCentral sent me the reader. The first one he sent is the one pictured on the Dazzle site. It didn’t match the one pictured on StylusCentral though. I asked him about this and he told me that the one pictured on his site (the one I reviewed) was the newer version. So I asked him to send me that one and that was the one I reviewed.

Originally posted by Peter K.
[B]Hi,

I’ve viewed this site from afar for awhile & I’ve been a great admirer. Most important, I’ve enjoyed the comprehensive reviews – real world/real user photos really add value to this site & its reviews.

In regards to the review of this 6-in-1 reader – I believe this to be a discontinued item. I had been in the market for a universal reader and culled quite a few etailers and manufacturer websites for info.

Ultimately, I settled on Dazzle and the 6-in-1 reader. However, when I went to use a digital coupon at Amazon, I noticed that there were 2 mentions of a Dazzle 6-in-1 reader. One is as pictured and written by this website, model DM-8400. It can be found for sale here:

Amazon

The other Dazzle 6-in-1 reader is model # DM-21200, found here:

Manufacturer’s website

At the aforementioned Amazon website, the DM-8400 is listed as out of stock or discontinued. At the Dazzle site, the only 6-in-1 reader mentioned is the DM-21200. So, by the powers of deduction…?

Really don’t know what the deal is with the DM-8400, but I am also aware of the problems with Lexar branded Memory Sticks – aren’t read by the DM-8400.

Apparently Dazzle is aware of this problem and have posted a driver update to fix this problem.

Ultimately, I chose the Dazzle DM-21200 and am very satisfied with it. With the proliferation of media formats, and the difficulty in restricting yourself to one format, a universal reader has become a must for the gadgeteer. [/B]

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 25 Jan 2003 01:24:21 +0000

Originally posted by Ding
Looks like a Canon CF card….which model are you usin?

Camera? I had a S110… I no longer have it though.

By: Peter K.

Peter K. — Sat, 25 Jan 2003 01:08:53 +0000

The driver update, allowing the use of Lexar branded Memory Sticks can be obtained here:

Driver update to reader Lexar MS

Scroll down to ‘Dazzle 6 In 1 Digital Media Readers’ and you’re there.

By: Peter K.

Peter K. — Sat, 25 Jan 2003 01:02:07 +0000

Forgot to add…

Apparently the DM-21200 allows for the concurrent use of the compact flash slot & either the SD/MMC, SmarMedia, or MS slot.

The compact, dual slot design allows CompactFlash or IBM Microdrive to work concurrently with the, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, and MultiMediaCard/Secure Digital.

I have a iMac running OS X.1.5 – I was able to plug and play right out of the box without installing any drivers.

Also takes up very little desktop space, which is hard to discern from the manufacturer’s website – the device can be stood on its side with the addition of the included stand, or flat.

By: Peter K.

Peter K. — Sat, 25 Jan 2003 00:57:22 +0000

Hi,

I’ve viewed this site from afar for awhile & I’ve been a great admirer. Most important, I’ve enjoyed the comprehensive reviews – real world/real user photos really add value to this site & its reviews.

In regards to the review of this 6-in-1 reader – I believe this to be a discontinued item. I had been in the market for a universal reader and culled quite a few etailers and manufacturer websites for info.

Ultimately, I settled on Dazzle and the 6-in-1 reader. However, when I went to use a digital coupon at Amazon, I noticed that there were 2 mentions of a Dazzle 6-in-1 reader. One is as pictured and written by this website, model DM-8400. It can be found for sale here:

Amazon

The other Dazzle 6-in-1 reader is model # DM-21200, found here:

Manufacturer’s website

At the aforementioned Amazon website, the DM-8400 is listed as out of stock or discontinued. At the Dazzle site, the only 6-in-1 reader mentioned is the DM-21200. So, by the powers of deduction…?

Really don’t know what the deal is with the DM-8400, but I am also aware of the problems with Lexar branded Memory Sticks – aren’t read by the DM-8400.

Apparently Dazzle is aware of this problem and have posted a driver update to fix this problem.

Ultimately, I chose the Dazzle DM-21200 and am very satisfied with it. With the proliferation of media formats, and the difficulty in restricting yourself to one format, a universal reader has become a must for the gadgeteer.

By: Ding

Ding — Sat, 25 Jan 2003 00:30:20 +0000

Looks like a Canon CF card….which model are you usin?

By: Ben S

Ben S — Fri, 24 Jan 2003 23:28:06 +0000

Sadly, it’s still not the holy grail…

The IDE DigiDrive can only recognize one media at a time. The Flash media that the drive icon represents depends on what media is present in one of the four slots. Once the drive icon detects the first media, subsequent addition of Flash media to other slots cannot be detected until the detected media is removed. If more than one media is inside the device during system boot up, the drive icon will always default to the first slot (in sequential order defined by the device) that contains the media.

…the problem is that you basically need a whole separate controller for each type of media you want to use. Thus a 4-in-one or 6-in-one with four or six slots that could present all the different media to the PC at once would be rather pricey.

Personally, I find it easy to restrict oneself to buying gear that uses only one form of media. But that goes against the Gadgeteer’s code

By: dweebus

dweebus — Fri, 24 Jan 2003 22:25:42 +0000

Julie check this out:
http://www.addonics.com/products/flash_memory_reader/ide_digidrive.asp

This one is IDE, but there are USB versions listed as well…this looks like a slick solution and the price is right too.