Crave

The Simplifi combines a bare-bones dock with a bare-bones-card reader.

(Credit: Griffin Technologies)

It's hard to make an iPod dock sizzle, but Griffin's Simplifi barely approaches room temperature.

By consolidating a memory card reader, USB hub, and iPod dock, the Griffin Simplifi has good intentions. Unfortunately, its card reader only accepts three formats, you only get two USB ports, and the dock doesn't offer a stitch of audio or video connectivity. The Simplifi is pretty looking, granted, but $70 can buy you a lot of pretty things.

Part of me was also hoping that the Simplifi would allow some sort of direct transfer between my memory cards and my iPod (like the old iPod Camera Connector). I guess some wishful part of my brain presumed that the card reader and iPod dock had something to do with each other, instead of being a random kludging of products. For what it's worth, the capability to offload photos from my camera directly onto my 120GB iPod Classic would be a feature worth paying $70 for, but the Simplifi won't get it done.

There are some good things going for the Griffin Simplifi. First off, it's iPhone 3G compatible. Also, while it may not read 62 types of memory cards, it does read the three most common card types for consumer cameras (SD, CompactFlash, and Memory Stick).

To find out more, read my full review of the Griffin Simplifi over at CNET Reviews.

The Photo Safe II can store thousands of high-resolution digital images.

(Credit: Digital Foci)

Do you think the 4GB SD card for your digital camera is large? Well, it is, especially compared with a few years ago when it was a big deal to have a 512MB card. How would you like 160GB of storage space for a camera? Now that's really large.

Today, Digital Foci introduced Photo Safe II, a portable photo storage device that can spare your laptop from a photo-shooting trip.

The device is essentially a battery-operated external hard drive that has a built-in card reader with an automated copy function. The Photo Safe II's card reader can handle all popular card formats, including CompactFlash (Extreme III, IV, UDMA), MMC, SD/HC Card, miniSD, Memory Stick, MS PRO, MS Duo, MS PRO Duo, and xD-Picture cards. You just need to stick a card into the proper slot and press the copy button, the entire contents of the card will be copied to the Photo Safe II's internal storage at speed a fairly good speed, it takes about 3.5 minutes to copy 1GB (so about 11 minutes for your 4GB card).

The Photo Safe II automatically organizes the contents of each card by creating sequential numbered folder names. It connects to a computer via USB 2.0 and, when plugged in, charges its replaceable lithium ion battery. It also acts as an external memory card reader for the computer.

The Photo Safe II is compatible with both Macs and PCs and comes in two versions, 80GB and 160GB that cost $139 and $189, respectively. The device ships with a rechargeable lithium ion battery, dual-plug USB cable, AC power adapter, and a one-year warranty.

Michele and the tech purchase that made her day

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

It's interesting how we make assumptions about people. Having worked in an environment where everyone "lives and breathes" technology, for a long time, I personally assumed the masses--like those I share public transportation with--would have some general level of understanding about what to do when it comes to technology. That said, I was appalled by my recent realization.

Over the years of commuting, I have made more than a few friends just from carpooling and sharing the daily bus ride. One of those is Michele, who works for a financial firm in downtown San Francisco. We commute together a few times a week.

Last Friday, once we'd gotten settled on the bus, with a big smile, Michele told me that she had just bought "this very cool thing" from Radio Shack that she thought to be a great invention. Then she pulled out a 5-in-1 USB card reader and went on explaining how it worked and that she could now get the photos off of her camera without having to use the camera at all. Being a gadget reviewer, I was speechless watching her enthusiastically doing practically a convincing impromptu review. As it turned out, she had had this digital camera since last Christmas and more often than not ran into problems downloading the photos onto a computer.

I can very much relate to this, by the way. It could be a pretty big hassle having to hook up the camera to the USB cable, the cable to the computer, turn the camera on, wait for stuff to happen, and then follow the onscreen instructions to download the pictures. Most cameras don't work as an external hard drive once plugged in and some even come with proprietary media that the only way you can access is via the camera and its also proprietary cable (think Sony products). Some cameras (if not most of them) come with B-rated photo management software that asks you to spend more money and makes it very confusing as to where the photos are stored on the hard drive.

Anyhow, for Michele, it was such a great day because finally, she found a very simple, straightforward way to get the job done. The first time ever since she got the camera she was able to send her 62-year-old mother, who lives in Maryland, a digital photo of her kids. "It was just so easy! I can't believe it," she said.

Of course, I wasn't impressed or intrigued by her generic, 20-dollar-or-so card reader or her Vivitar digital camera, but rather, by the fact that it took her that long to know about the existence of such an accessory and especially by her joy of having figured this all out. Card readers have been out there on the market for years and new computers even come with them built-in. Michele just wasn't informed. It's really not her fault, as a lot of gadgets are designed to solve problems that people don't know they have in the first place. It's really interesting, though, the fact that the issue had never come up in our previous conversations. I wish I had told her about CNET or just shared my little know-how about the general use of digital cameras, and Michele's mom would have been able to put the greatly anticipated photos on her refrigerator door much earlier...

So spread the word, CNET users! It's great to put on your iPod headset and enjoy the latest podcasts and learn about all kinds of cool stuff for yourself. In the end, though, it's what you share with others that matters, especially when it comes to technology. Bring those around you in the know! Sometimes, just a simple pointing to the right direction like "go to CNET.com!" is enough. We, CNET, are here to keep you informed.

Speaking of being informed, I am wondering if there's a simply way to raise my contribution for the upcoming AIDS Walk that I just signed up for. Anyone has some quick tips?

Happy Monday!

(Credit: USB Geek)

Last month we vowed not to post any more items on multi-card readers, figuring that enough was enough after an 80-in-1 version came out. We lied.

But this one isn't here to play the same numbers game, probably because that arms race has already gotten out of hand. Instead, this Triangular USB Multi-Functional Card Reader has taken a different route--by combining it with a clock and a thermometer. (We said different, not better.) It does come in three colors including black and orange, however, which is a good thing if you're a San Francisco Giants fan.

(Credit: Kingston Technology)

Some of us at Crave freely concede our disdain for all forms of mutating gadgetry that combine disparate functions just because they can. But every once in awhile, one comes along that actually proves useful--and they're often as mundane as they are practical.

Case in point: USB flash drives generally don't turn heads, and Kingston's "DataTraveler Micro Reader" is no exception. Just look at the name--it says it all. Still, that doesn't mean it isn't useful. What makes this one different is a hidden compartment that stores and reads microSD and Memory Stick Micro cards, as well as holds 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB of data in its own right.

Pair it with a phone that stores its headset, and now we're getting somewhere. Secret compartments--now that's the way to combine stuff.

(Credit: Brando)

OK, this is the last time we post an item on a multi-card reader. Not because we don't appreciate them, mind you, but because they're just too hard to keep up with. Just last week we pointed to model that can handle 62 formats, and already it's been eclipsed by one that can read 80 of them, with what appears to be a much smaller device. And as if to add insult to injury, Gizmodo says Brando's "iMono" has a smaller price tag as well--just $17, less than half that of its recent rival.

(Credit: USB Fever)

If you've been a gadget freak for years and just can't part with various memory cards that came with them, this may be just what you've been looking for. USB Fever has a reader that can handle 62 card formats, whether they come from media players, cameras, phones, or scads of other devices. (The last one we saw could handle only 55 cards.) The latest model can also work with SATA and eSATA drives for even more options, according to Gadget Venue. But seriously, if make use of all 62 formats, an intervention of some kind may be in order.

(Credit: Cocos)

We thought the whole pen convergence trend had subsided after seeing the most recent combo devices with built-in camcorders and DVRs. But video is apparently only the beginning for the versatile writing instrument, which also has designs on the storage market.

There have been many USB memory pens, as Chip Chick has noted, but now things have gotten downright silly with an SD card reader. The "3 in 1 Cocos Card Reader" also has a USB drive and actually writes, hence the three functions, with storage of up to 512MB.

But unlike the earlier surveillance-oriented pens, we wouldn't recommend this one for covert activities. A pen with a rectangle sticking out of it isn't exactly an everyday sight.

Lexar's new Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB reader.

(Credit: Lexar)

Lexar is about to start shipping a new reader to complement its line of 300X Professional UDMA CompactFlash cards. First announced back in February, the reader features two slots: one UDMA-compatible CompactFlash slot and one SDHC-compatible SD card slot. The reader's slick design includes an integrated cover for the card slots. If you press buttons on the sides of the reader, the middle portion pops up and the slots become accessible. When you're done, just push the middle part down and the slots are covered, so you don't have to worry about dirt or dust getting inside the slots while you're toting the reader from one shoot to the next in your bag. A mini USB jack on the back lets you connect it to your computer with the included mini-to-full-size USB cable.

Lexar was kind enough to loan us a sample of the Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB Reader, along with a 4GB 300X Professional UDMA CompactFlash card, to try out. When I hooked the card and reader up to a high-end Mac Pro desktop, I was able to get an average write speed (copying JPEG and various RAW image files from the computer to the card) of a little over 20 megabytes (MB) per second. On a not-very-high-end Windows PC I got an average write speed of 15MB per second. In both cases reading from the card and transferring images to the computer happened significantly faster; 35MB per second on the same Mac and 30MB per second on the same PC.

While those speeds might not seem impressive if you know that a 300X card comes with a claim of a top write speed of 45MB per second, if you've ever tested some of these cards, you'll know that the claimed speeds are always much faster than what you can expect in regular use. This reader/card combination's performance puts it among the fastest you can get right now. The Lexar Professional UDMA Dual-Slot USB reader is expected to hit stores around November 15 with a suggested retail price of about $45.