Asante 6-in-1 USB2.0 Card Reader Review
Going on the road with your digital camera? Are you simply looking for a capable digital media reader to transfer music, video for your digital mediums? I will be looking at the USB2.0 enabled digital card reader for the PC and MAC. The Asante FriendlyNET UMR206 GINI USB2.0 6-in-1 Card reader/writer.
Specifications
Supports...
- Sony ® Memory Stick (MS)
- CompactFlash (CF) Type I and II
- IBM ® Microdrive (MD)
- SmartMedia (SM)
- MultiMediaCard (MMC)
- Secure Digital (SD)
- Requirements: USB2.0 port/Windows/OS 9-X
The Asante 6-in-1 USB2.0 Card Reader arrived in a corrugated box filled with bits of Styrofoam for protection. The packaging is a plastic bolster pack with the front predominantly displaying the product and the rear of the box with the product information.
The package
The Asante 6-in-1 USB2.0 Card Reader comes packaged with the main unit and a USB cable.
The Asante 6-in-1 USB2.0 Card Reader looks about the same as the Veritech reader we reviewed a while back with some minor differences. Most noticeably, the Asante 6-in-1 USB2.0 Card Reader sports a black color scheme. The paint finish is high quality and the construction is first-rate.
The front of the unit has the slots to connect your digital mediums. It supports Memory Stick, Secure Digital Cards, Compact Flash Cards, Micro Dive, Smart Media Cards, and Multimedia Cards.
The bottom of the unit does not have rubber feet. I would like to see them to prevent slippage on surfaces. The top of the Asante 6-in-1 USB2.0 Card Reader has the "6-in-1" logo and a green LED activity light.
Installation – There is nothing really new to
do except plug the USB cable in and Windows automatically installs it.
Testing
Testing will consist of comparing the Compact Flash performance against the Veritech USB1 model. The SanDisk 64MB Compact Flash Card is used for testing.
Results
Asante USB 2.0
Veritech USB 1.1
Asante USB 2.0
Veritech USB 1.1
The results improved in every area. A better performance chart would be to use a faster CF Card as it depends on how fast is the medium such as the rated 40X cards. CPU Utilization has decreased by a percent and read speeds have improved according to HD Tach. The same goes for the Sisoft Sandra MAX3 File Performance test. Read and write speeds have improved and allow for better speeds. While browsing along in "My Computer" it felt a tad faster. Again, cards rated at a higher speed such as 40x will give you a better indication of USB1.1 vs USB 2.0 improvements. We might update you when we get our hands on one.
Conclusion
The Asante 6-in-1 USB2.0 Card Reader looks great, and performs like a USB2.0 unit should. This combination makes it the perfect unit to check out. However, there was one gimmick, and that is still no feet in the bottom of the unit to prevent sliding. The USB1 unit was fast when it was the standard and now USB2.0 is the new standard.
I rate the Asante 6-in-1 USB2.0 Card Reader a…
9.5/10!
Pros and Cons
+
Fast
+ USB 2.0
+ Looks and construction
- No rubber feet on bottom to prevent slipping
Alternative Pricing
I would like to thank Asante for making this review possible. Please visit www.asante.com for more products and information
