Please know that there are cheaper, better options than the SanDisk MobileMate Reader

First published on December 7, 2006

I picked up this free hub:ce magazine, confusing it for regular hub magazine (they’re both made by the same company). Usually hub has some useful articles. But hub:ce is simply a massive promotional tool masquerading itself as “Canada’s premier consumer electronics magazine”. I don’t want to knock the magazine any further, but I feel the need to point out that one of the products that it features in the 2006 “holiday issue” can be had much cheaper and with better features. (This is the case with a lot of the other products, but I’ll just stick to this one.)

The product featured in hub:ce:

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Card-carrying member
It’s fun to look at digital photos on the back of the camera, but why limit yourself to a 2-inch screen when you have a laptop or PC? Products like the SanDisk MobileMate Reader: www.sandisk.com : $24.99 are a clever idea. Buy the one that fits your camera’s memory card type (such as SecureDigital or MemoryStick) and plug it into your PC to view your pics.
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This MobileMate Reader is, in short, a memory card reader that is compact like a USB key, plugging into your USB port. It is quite handy for those who 1) don’t have a built-in memory card reader on the computer they wish to use; and 2) want more convenient access to what’s on their memory card, as opposed to lugging out an adaptor or bigger memory card reader. Such products are great because you can also turn unused memory cards into USB keys.

The problem is that 1) a product with the same features as the MobileMate Reader can be had for $4.99 here (and no, I am not affiliated with that site); and 2) the $4.99 product reads both SecureDigital and MemoryStick cards, thus eliminating the need for multiple readers.

I actually already talked about the $4.99 product but I suppose one can never do enough to try and prevent others from being ripped off on memory card readers!

This entry is filed under Consumerism and written by Peter Keung. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

One Response to “Please know that there are cheaper, better options than the SanDisk MobileMate Reader”

December 28th, 2014 at 7:42 pm
Alan says:

Thanks, you know that many consumers are paying way to much for some items. I found a memory card reader at the local Dollar Store (not sure of name, could be a competitor). I think it was $3.00 on Vancouver Island.

It’s brand is "Tech1", USB 2.0 Card Reader and takes MS, SD/Mini SD, and Micro SD. It looks real cheap, but it works perfectly on the cards I’ve used.

I always check the dollar stores for tech stuff before buying, they are coming out with more and more items all the time.