Kingston MobileLite G3 USB 3.0 Memory Card Reader Review

Kingston MobileLite Goes USB 3.0

Are you looking for a compact SuperSpeed USB 3.0 card reader that you can easily store or take with you on the go? If you answered yes to that question you are in for a treat today! Kingston’s MobileLite G3 card reader is small, uses the USB 3.0 interface and is designed to handle SD/SDHC/SDXC, micro SD/SDHC/SDXC and Memory Stick Pro Duo memory cards! Not bad considering it costs under $20 shipped!

Kingston has been producing ‘MobileLite’ card readers for years and the MobileLite G3 is the third MobileLite reader the company has released. This third generation reader was made to become an essential part of your mobile gear. This compact, multi-functional USB 3.0 card reader lets your easily transfer digital data, photos, games, music and more stored on Flash cards between all kinds of digital devices.

Kingston MobileLite G3 Specifications:

• Compliant with the USB 3.0 specification, SDA 3.01 standard
• Versatile multi-functional USB card reader supports SD/SDHC/SDXC, microSD/SDHC/SDXC and MSPD
• Backwards compatible with USB 2.0
• Portable easily fits in your pocket
• Guaranteed two-year warranty, free technical support
• Dimensions 2.45″ x 1.16″ x 0.646″ (62.15mm x 29.40mm x 16.40mm)
• Operating Temperature 32F to 140F (0C to 60C)
• Storage Temperature -4 to 158 F (-20to 70C)

The Kingston MobileLite G3 has retractable covers on each side that make make it look nice and to protect the USB connector and Flash card slots from damage. It also comes with a key ring already installed, so you can easily attach it so it doesn’t get lost. The Kingston MobileLite G3 measures in at just 2.45 x 0.646 x 1.16 inches and weighs in at 0.75 ounces according to our digital scale.

Flipping the card reader over you can see that one side has the Kingston brand name and the other has the product name. The card reader is blue and black with a honey comb finish on the plastic covers. There is a faint blue LED activity light on the reader that we were unable to see during the day, but at night you can make it out through the black plastic.

With the memory card slot cover retracted you can see that there are two memory slots available on the MobileLite G3. We didn’t know if you could access both memory slots at once, but we tried with a SDHC and microSD card and both were given drive letters and could be used simultaneously.

On the other end you’ll find the standard sized USB 3.0 connector. This connector is backwards compatible with USB 2.0, so you’ll be able to use it on various computers with no problems. If you have a USB 3.0 port and are using a high-end memory card that is faster you will want to use a USB 3.0 port as it will be faster. USB 2.0 tops out at around 37 MB/s and some of the fastest SD and microSD cards on the market are reaching 100MB/s, so you’ll want to use the USB 3.0 port to get the most performance possible.

If you are wanting a fast SD memory card be sure to look for cards that are Ultra-High Speed (UHS) Speed Class rated. UHS-I cards are on the market today and cards that are called UHS-104 are able to reach speeds of up to 104MB/s. UHS-II cards are in development right now that they will be able to reach speeds of up to 312MB/s! Kingston told us that the MobileLite G3 is UHS-104 rated, so it should be able to handle UHS-104 memory cards. The fastest microSD card in the world is the SanDisk Extreme Pro microSDHC UHS-I card and we just happen to have one. We will be testing the Kington MobileLite G3 with the fastest card in the world to see how well it holds up!