Author: Andrew Schembri Date: March 01, 2008 Manufacturer: Apiotek Provider: Apiotek

Testing » Page 1: Apiotek Extreme Adaptor 24 in 1 Express Card EC-CR24

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Anybody who has used a media reader pc card adaptor in a laptop knows how much of a pain they can be, not only in terms of slow performance, but of hogging up too much CPU resources causing the entire system to continuously hesitate while accessing the card. Until now, the only other available option was USB media readers. These devices easily outperformed their PC card brethren, but added another part to pack in one’s laptop bag. Apiotek has taken care of both issues with the 24 in 1 express card adaptor.

What’s Included


Apiotek only includes the actual 24 in 1 adaptor. Nothing else is really required since this is a truly plug and play device. No drivers are required. Anything that might have been included in a manual, such as product features and specifications, is all laid out on the back of the packaging.

Features and Specificatons


Apiotek’s website lists the following features for the 24 in 1 adaptor:

• Compliant with Express Card 34/54 interface
• [World’s First] 24 in 1 design- Supports multiple flash cards: MS, MS PRO, MS Duo, MS PRO Duo,M2, M2 Pro-HG, SD, miniSD, SDHC, miniSDHC, SD 2.0, MicroSD, MMC, RS-MMC, RS-MMC DV, MMC 4.0, RSMMC 4.0, MMCplus, MMCmobile, MMCmicro, TransFlash, XD, XD type M, XD type H .
• Supports USB2.0 Speed (480mbps)
• Super light weight-15g, easy to carry everywhere
• RoHS Compliant
• No driver required

Note that this adaptor accepts SD cards! That means media cards up to 32GB can be read with this product.


Something interesting to note is that Apiotek lists this as being able to accept miniSD cards. Our tests indicate that one must use an adaptor for miniSD cards to use the 24 in 1 adaptor. It is to be assumed that the same issue appears when using other “mini” or “micro” cards. It would have been nice for Apiotek to include some of these adaptors, even though most of the mini/micro cards do ship with the adaptors to be read in their bigger brother style card reader.


The card is very light weight at only 15 grams. Dimensions are 1.35” X 2.95” X 0.02”, meaning that the 24 in 1 adaptor is very small.

Installation
Installation was simple and straightforward. Simply plug in the Apiotek 24 in 1 adaptor. Windows automatically installs the correct drivers. Insert a compatible card and voila, a new drive letter appears in My Computer.


Once installed, the card does not protrude from the computer at all. However, if a media card is installed, it does stick out and looks rather vulnerable to breakage. It would have been nice if at least the SD cards would be able to be inserted flush with the surface of the media reader.

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Testing » Page 1: Apiotek Extreme Adaptor 24 in 1 Express Card EC-CR24 Page 2: Testing