CD-R King G-C2012 Surge Card Reader

These days, there are a whole bunch of storage media available from floppy discs to portable USB hard drives. You also have different types of memory cards that you can use on your cellular phones, digital cameras, and even the Sony PSP. Now, not all hardware can read all those types of storage media. Let's say you have a digital camera with a Sony Pro 2 Memory Stick and a cellular phone with a Micro SD Memory card. You could find your computer incapable of reading them since most desktops, if not all, do not have built-in card readers with the motherboards and third party PC cards. Some laptops, however, do have readers built into them.

However, there are a couple of hardware devices that will allow you to use several types of storage media and can allow your PC to access the data inside the memory cards. Yes, you guessed it. It usually makes use of the USB ports on your PC, which by far has become one of the standards in removable media and is usually included as a built-in feature in almost all of today's motherboards. CD-R King, widely known here in the Philippines as a top gadgets store, has such a device and the CD-R King G-C2012 Surge Card Reader delivers. But is it really that good?

First of all, let's talk about its more important aspects. When it comes to compatibility, you won't have any problem at all. It is capable of reading the following storage media: Cellphone SIM card, SD memory (Micro, Mini), Multimedia Cards (MMC), Memory Stick including Duo and Pro Duo, and M2. That actually sounds good as you probably covered almost every type of compact storage media.

It basically works like a USB drive. Once you insert a Micro SD card, for example, once you plug it into the USB port, you'll be able to view the files on your computer. It's then just a matter of cutting, pasting, clicking and dragging. It can be used on almost all kinds of PCs as long as it has a USB port. There's more. It's capable of high-speed USB 2 transfers so even though you have huge high definition video files from your digital camcorder, it doesn't take long before you can copy it completely.

As for its price, it's a sure win. Costing at around $3 or so, it fits your budget perfectly. Now, let's move on. Its design is simple and follows how "portable media" is. With its small size, you can carry it almost anywhere. The slots are clearly labeled. You most likely wouldn't have any problems finding the correct slot for your storage.

However, one small flaw bothers me. The USB connector flips from inside the device. So it will stick out for you to be able to connect it to your USB port. USB ports are usually connected to your motherboard and are located at the back panel of your PC tower. Now, the problem arises when you have lots of cable on that back panel. For example, you have your sound system, other USB devices, Serial and Parallel Ports, and other devices, it's hard to plug it in. Plus, the USB connector easily gets loose.

Regardless of the latter, the CD-R King G-C2012 Surge Card Reader does what it's supposed to do and does it efficiently and quickly. It's a really good buy and you now have the capability to read different types of compact storage media. You can then back your data up or view them easily. But then, the name "Surge Card Reader" still escapes me. Well, as long at its working great, it really doesn't matter a lot does it?