Belkin Responds to iPod Media Reader Concerns

[LethalWolfe]

Probably not many people need 30 or 40 gigs for their pix, but the card reader + iPod is easier to carry around than a bunch of 256meg CF cards or a laptop. And a lot cheaper than 1gig+ microdrives (assuming you already have an iPod). Now if only the dang card reader was faster...

I can easily burn thru a 256meg CF card at a single event (wedding, Halloween party, etc.,) of course I am using the highest jpg setting on my Canon s50 so it takes about 130 some odd pix to fill it up.


Lethal

 

[Analog Kid]

Wow, these peripherals suck more everytime I hear more about them...

15min to transfer from a 256MB card, using a $100 attachment requiring 4 extra batteries? Oh my...

I like this bit: "The current product balances several hardware considerations, including street price, transfer speed, battery life and portability, with software considerations."

Hmmm... Too expensive, too slow, too many batteries and too big to fit in a pocket.

Struck a good balance, Belkin!

I got interviewed outside the Palo Alto Apple Store before the Panther launch, I can't remember what Apple media source he was from. After we went over Panther for a bit, he asked if I had an iPod (yes) and then asked if I was excited about the new voice mic (no).

He gave me this strange look like I was breaking some code not speak ill of anything iPod in public. I pointed out that he was recording me on a mini-disc recorder, so obviously it wasn't doing the trick for him either...

 

[rjstanford]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
Probably not many people need 30 or 40 gigs for their pix, but the card reader + iPod is easier to carry around than a bunch of 256meg CF cards

You're kidding, right? You can toss CF cards into a spare bag pocket. They can take much more abuse than an iPod ever could, as well, and hey, you can swap them out (full for empty) in just a couple of seconds. Also, if you're a professional, the cost for a (sizable) stack of high-cap cards is not that much these days (certainly less than film cost used to be).

A single 512mb CF card (consumer-grade ones at least) can be found for under $100 now - so for the same price as the Belkin an end user could get a hard that would hold, what, 250 highest-quality 4 megapixel images? Or jump the size or quality down a notch, and easily fit over 500 "pretty good" pics on. And really, that should hold the kind of consumer who'd be happy with the Belkin product pretty well. Especially if they've been used to the 32mb cards as suggested by idkew above.

-Richard

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by rjstanford
You're kidding, right? You can toss CF cards into a spare bag pocket. They can take much more abuse than an iPod ever could, as well, and hey, you can swap them out (full for empty) in just a couple of seconds. Also, if you're a professional, the cost for a (sizable) stack of high-cap cards is not that much these days (certainly less than film cost used to be).

A single 512mb CF card (consumer-grade ones at least) can be found for under $100 now - so for the same price as the Belkin an end user could get a hard that would hold, what, 250 highest-quality 4 megapixel images? Or jump the size or quality down a notch, and easily fit over 500 "pretty good" pics on. And really, that should hold the kind of consumer who'd be happy with the Belkin product pretty well. Especially if they've been used to the 32mb cards as suggested by idkew above.

-Richard

If you are on vacation, or a road trip or something and won't be near your computer for a few days, maybe a week or two, how many CF cards are you going to buy? How much will that cost? How many times will you pick up a CF card and go, "Did I use this one already?" If you already have an iPod why not get the reader? How much CF cards will $99 get you? And, maybe i'm not in the norm, but most of my friends/family that have digital cameras all bought larger memory cards for their cameras.

Is the reader a "must have" add-on? No. But it could be a pretty handy device if it wasn't so slow.


Lethal

 

[rjstanford]

Originally posted by LethalWolfe
If you are on vacation, or a road trip or something and won't be near your computer for a few days, maybe a week or two, how many CF cards are you going to buy?

Personally, I never carry more than a couple gigs, often just one 512mb card if I don't really expect to take that many pictures. Still, I don't remember the last time when I had to go more than 24 hours without being able to dump to my laptop. Of course, not everybody's travel plans are the same.

How much CF cards will $99 get you?

Er, as I just said, about 512mb worth (or, to put it another way, 35 minutes of time for transfer on the Belkin during which you couldn't use your card to take any more pictures).

Is the reader a "must have" add-on? No. But it could be a pretty handy device if it wasn't so slow.

Right, but I was commenting on it as it is, not as it could have been. As it is, its pretty durn useless.

-Richard

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by rjstanford
Personally, I never carry more than a couple gigs, often just one 512mb card if I don't really expect to take that many pictures. Still, I don't remember the last time when I had to go more than 24 hours without being able to dump to my laptop. Of course, not everybody's travel plans are the same.

And not everybody has a laptop. Like I said, I think the reader would be a great device if you are on vacation or in some other situation that would keep you away from your computer for an extended period of time. Given the slow speed of the reader it wouldn't be a good device for "on the fly" storage, but it would work fine in a nightly xfer role. Carry a couple of CF cards to get you through the day the empty then onto yer iPod at night.

Er, as I just said, about 512mb worth (or, to put it another way, 35 minutes of time for transfer on the Belkin during which you couldn't use your card to take any more pictures).

It was a rhetorical question meant to point out that for $99 you could get 512 megs of space (CF card) or up to 40 gigs of space (iPod).


Lethal