Product Requirements:
Device:
The following equipment with a PCMCIA Card rated Type II Slot: PC/AT compatible machines, Apple Macintosh PowerBooks, Handheld PCs

Operating Systems:
Windows XP/2000/Me/98 (Including SE)/95
Windows CE 2.0 and later
Mac OS 8.5/8.6/9.0/9.0.4/9.1/9.2/9.2.1
(This product is not compatible with Sleep functions)

I have been looking for a way to consolidate all of the various memory card readers that I own into a single PCMCIA card. You see, on any given day  I can deal with a variety of SD/MMCs, Memory Sticks, Compact Flash and Smart Media Cards. It can get a bit insane swapping out each cards specific adapter when I need to access a different card..

While I wish I could tell you that I had found a card reader that would do all five of the formats I use, I am still pleased that I have found one that handles four of them - specifically SD/MMC, Memory Sticks and Smart Media.

The I-O Data Multi PC Card Adapter is a Type II PCMCIA card that is in a word, convenient.

Instead of hooking up one of my PDAs that takes SD/MMC or memory stick media directly to my laptop and transferring files by using the PDA as its own drive, I can instead go the much quicker route and transfer directly through the card, via the reader.

The I-O Data card sits flush with my lap top's side. Ejecting the PC card exposes the cut-out, which makes extracting the memory card easy.

One of the best examples of how much time this can save you is seen when transferring MP3s. Here, you can see what I am talking about...

 TEXT There are many different scenarios that I can see where this card would be very useful:  transferring MP3s to a PDA, transferring pictures from a camera to your laptop, viewing pictures on your Pocket PC with a PCMCIA slot.

This widget has earned a permanent place in my gear bag...unless they happen to come out with one that also accepts Compact Flash, then I will definitely have to trade up!

Price: $34.99

Pros:
Eliminates the need for multiple card readers

Cons:
None