Page 2: Testing and Conclusion
Testing And Use:
The unit's battery lasted a good long time, but I couldn't get any hard numbers since the drive is smart enough not to transfer pictures from a card it has already seen and transferred. I wasn't about to keep changing files on the cards to do that test, but the battery life is fine for use. The actual use of the device is very simple. You turn the unit on and plug a memory card in. Once you do that, hit the copy button and the transfer starts. The video supplement is included...
(Forgive the Youtube audio screw up, it didn't sound that bad when I rendered it.)
Aside from the trouble I had getting the plastic piece to hold the drive in, the installation was pretty easy. All the hardware needed is included with the unit including the tiny screw driver.
The unit's quick start guide says it only handles 32GB FAT32 partitions to copy the pictures, this turned out to be false. You can use any size FAT32 partition. If for some reason your drive does not function with a partition greater than 32GB, try lower it. You can still use the rest of the space for USB mass storage. The unit acts like a removable hard drive when you plug it into the USB port of the computer which is a plus since there is no extra software to install. It works on Mac, Linux, Windows, and all the others that support USB mass storage.
Transfers will take some time to perform if you have a bunch of data to copy. It may take upwards of 15 minutes or more depending on how fast the card can be read and other factors. You can leave the device to copy the data itself since the unit will turn off after it's done copying to save battery life. The battery life indicator will show you when you are running low. The unit gives all the needed data for viewing which is always good.
The unit is supposed to act like a card reader when plugged into USB, but in my testing, it didn't work that way. It is a blemish, but not a big deal since you'll be transferring the pictures to the drive first then using the drive for USB mass storage.
Conclusion:
I checked the Sans Digital site and the unit is going for about $50 which is a great price for piece of mind. Think about how you could use a device like this. The ability to transfer pictures to it instead of having to turn on your laptop while on vacation is great. You can bulk transfer when you are ready instead of each time the memory card fills up. The MS1U stores each memory card in a different folder on the device so you can organize your pictures easier when you transfer.
Hopefully Sans Digital will include SDHC support in a future unit since that's the only thing from giving it a recommended award. The lack of SDHC is a real bummer since most people are buying SDHC card since they have dropped in price. If you are using non SDHC cards, the MS1U is a perfect match for your digital camera. If you are using SDHC, you'll have to look elsewhere.
I'd like to thank Katy from Sans Digital for sending the MobileSTOR units for review.
The unit's battery lasted a good long time, but I couldn't get any hard numbers since the drive is smart enough not to transfer pictures from a card it has already seen and transferred. I wasn't about to keep changing files on the cards to do that test, but the battery life is fine for use. The actual use of the device is very simple. You turn the unit on and plug a memory card in. Once you do that, hit the copy button and the transfer starts. The video supplement is included...
(Forgive the Youtube audio screw up, it didn't sound that bad when I rendered it.)
Aside from the trouble I had getting the plastic piece to hold the drive in, the installation was pretty easy. All the hardware needed is included with the unit including the tiny screw driver.
The unit's quick start guide says it only handles 32GB FAT32 partitions to copy the pictures, this turned out to be false. You can use any size FAT32 partition. If for some reason your drive does not function with a partition greater than 32GB, try lower it. You can still use the rest of the space for USB mass storage. The unit acts like a removable hard drive when you plug it into the USB port of the computer which is a plus since there is no extra software to install. It works on Mac, Linux, Windows, and all the others that support USB mass storage.
Transfers will take some time to perform if you have a bunch of data to copy. It may take upwards of 15 minutes or more depending on how fast the card can be read and other factors. You can leave the device to copy the data itself since the unit will turn off after it's done copying to save battery life. The battery life indicator will show you when you are running low. The unit gives all the needed data for viewing which is always good.
The unit is supposed to act like a card reader when plugged into USB, but in my testing, it didn't work that way. It is a blemish, but not a big deal since you'll be transferring the pictures to the drive first then using the drive for USB mass storage.
Conclusion:
I checked the Sans Digital site and the unit is going for about $50 which is a great price for piece of mind. Think about how you could use a device like this. The ability to transfer pictures to it instead of having to turn on your laptop while on vacation is great. You can bulk transfer when you are ready instead of each time the memory card fills up. The MS1U stores each memory card in a different folder on the device so you can organize your pictures easier when you transfer.
Hopefully Sans Digital will include SDHC support in a future unit since that's the only thing from giving it a recommended award. The lack of SDHC is a real bummer since most people are buying SDHC card since they have dropped in price. If you are using non SDHC cards, the MS1U is a perfect match for your digital camera. If you are using SDHC, you'll have to look elsewhere.
I'd like to thank Katy from Sans Digital for sending the MobileSTOR units for review.