USB Geek Q-Reader

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

May 11, 2006

As is the way with most electronic items, flash memory cards are getting more and more miniscule. Although the smallest ones usually come with an SD adapter, keeping one handy is not always convenient. Two of the tiniest formats available, MMC Micro and T-flash, are the special targets of the new USB Geek Q-Reader that I'll be looking at today. With it's six individual sockets, including one each for those tiny aforementioned formats, the Q-Reader boasts the ability to read a total of 31 different memory card formats.

Available in blue, white or black plastic and measuring approximately 4" long x 2.5" wide x 0.75" thick and weighing just 2.2 ounces, this portable adapter can be easily tucked into an empty spot in any gear bag.

All but the T-flash and MMC Micro fit into the four slots on the front of the reader. A white plastic faceplate swings to cover the port holes when the reader is being stored.

The MMC Micro slot is on the left, the T-Flash on the right.

I still find it hard to believe that there are memory cards as tiny as the T-flash. I mean...wow!

The mini-USB connection is on the bottom of the device.

When the reader is plugged in and receiving power, the green light will glow. As the inserted card is accessed, the red light will blink, and the red light will simply glow steadily otherwise.

The various ports on the card reader are not labeled in the "My Computer" view, so this is one of those times when keeping each memory card formatted with its own name can help.

This card reader boasts USB 2.0 transfer rates of up to 480 Mbps. To see if this number makes a big difference in the real world, I decided to test it while transferring a 713MB movie file. The Q-Reader did the transfer from computer to card in one minute 23 seconds and from card to computer in one minute 14 seconds. For comparison, the Atech iDuo did the transfer from computer to card in one minute 52 seconds and from card to computer in one minute 23 seconds. The memory card used was a 2GB SanDisk Ultra II., and obviously even larger files would have resulted in larger time differences.

All told, the USB Geek Q-Reader is yet another twist to a familiar story - four card slots which service just under 30 different flash memory cards as long as the user has the proper adapter for the more exotic versions. However, the slightly faster read/write speeds and the addition of the two extra readers built into the side will add a level of convenience that T-Flash and MMC Micro users may find hard to resist.