The Kingston TravelLite SD/MMC Reader Review

Kingston’s New Lite SD/MMC Card Reader

When one thinks of Kingston Technology they often think about memory, but many forget that Kingston also has their own line of memory readers. A few months ago Legit Reviews took a look at the Kingston 15-in-1 Flash Memory Reader and liked it so much we use it daily here at Legit Reviews for all of our flash memory card needs. I should mention that those past three months have been flawless and we still proudly stand behind the editors choice award that we gave the 15-in-1 reader.

Today we take a look at the Kingston TravelLite SD/MMC Reader, which is designed for today’s popular SD and MMC Flash memory cards. It is obvious that a number of companies are moving away from other formats and going to the SD and MMC form factors to help make their products smaller. A great example of this is Canon with their PowerShot S-series of cameras. From the S10 to the S70 Canon used only CompactFlash (CF) memory on their ever popular PowerShot S-series, but at the end of 2005 Canon moved over to SecureDigital (SD) on the latest S80 digital camera.

TravelLite Features/Benefits

• Versatile ? works with SD, MMC, MMCplus and miniSD, RS-MMC, MMCmobile
• Dimensions ? 1.42″ x 2.92″ x 0.547″ (36.07mm x 74.23mm x 13.90mm)
• Speed Rating ? Up to 8 MB/sec. read rate and up to 6 MB/sec write rate
• Operating Temperature ? 0 o to 60 o C / 32 o to 140 o F
• Storage Temperature ? -20 o to 85 o C / -4 o to 185 o F
• Weight ? 0.042 lbs. (15g)
• Standardized ? complies with USB 2.0 specification standards
• Portable ? easily fits in your pocket
• Easy ? plug and play into any USB 2.0 or 1.1 port
• Guaranteed ? one year warranty
• Minimum Requirements ? System with USB support

Kingston noticed the demand for an SD/MMC reader and came up with the TravelLite, which provides quick and easy transfer of electronic data between any recent PC or Mac computer. The reader was designed with the traveler in mind and made plain and simple, which means that it is small. We found that the TravelLite SD/MMC reader could easily fit in your pocket and be forgotten that it is there. The reader connects to your PC via an open USB port meaning that no drivers or external power source is required. The TravelLite SD/MMC Reader can also double as a convenient USB Flash drive using the storage capacity of your SD or MMC card to function like a standard USB key.

Nathan Kirsch’s Final Thoughts and Conclusions:

The Kingston TravelLite is a very simple media reader that worked just fine on the flash cards that we used during our testing of the product. Kingston rated the TravelLite at up tp 8MB/Sec read and 6MB/Sec write and our testing found the device could read at 8.7MB/Sec and write at 4.3MB/Sec. While these speeds are no where close to the read/write speeds found on the same card in the Kingston 15-in-1 Flash Memory Reader they are decent and good enough for people on the go looking for a quick and easy way to transfer files.

The Kingston TravelLite can be found for around $7 plus shipping which makes it affordable and appealing to give to others as a gift. We found the Kingston TravelLite to do the job fine and still leave some bills in your wallet at the end of the day. That is rare these days!

Legit Bottom Line: The Kingston TravelLite SD/MMC Reader is ideal for those on the go that use SD/MMC flash memory cards and never want to be caught in a situation where they can’t access their cards. The Kingston TravelLite is cheap insurance for those who live in the digital age!