USB flash media readers aren’t exactly ripe for innovation, so it’s rare that they surprise us in a way that doesn’t inspire laughter. But 69ing two readers into one compact, featureless lump? That’s kinda genius.
Of course, it’s not an officially licensed real Rubik’s Cube (unless you’re looking at the easiest Rubik’s Cube in history), but Brando’s “270˘X x 270 X Card Reader” comes close enough.
The latest creation from the industry leader in extremely unlikely gadgets, Brando’s Rota-Rota USB hub combines three swiveling USB ports, readers for most flash memory formats (sorry, CF) and, uhh, two thermometers?
Elecom’s MicroSD USB reader takes advantage of the storage format’s miniature size to ensure that the only thing poking out of your computer is a colourful— and dare I say stylish— little nub.
Kudos to the British government for spending the equivalent of $US6.6 billion US on a biometric National Identity Card program without budgeting for a single card reader. Truly, they operate like a finely-tuned machine.
Hypochondriacs should be comforted to hear that scientists have developed a card-reading device that can test blood, urine and saliva for diseases and illnesses instantly. This medical card-reader uses the giant magnetoresistance principle, which means it can diagnose diseases from bodily samples just as a computer would collect data off hard disk drives. Because it is currently the size of a desktop computer, this device will not be available for commercialisation as of now. So, if you’re too impatient to find out whether or not you tested positive for gonorrhea, and you just can’t seem to keep it in your pants in the meantime, please use a condom. Thank you. [Gearlog]
The Gadget: Griffin’s Simplifi dock for iPod or iPhone, which aims to de-clutter your desk by tossing in a reader for CF, SD, XD and Memory Stick Pro cards and a two-port powered USB 2.0 hub. The right kind of convergence. galleryPost('simplifidock', 3, '');
Sony Ericsson is joining the mobile internet dongle game with the new MD400 and MD400g USB modems. Both are pretty diminutive, and pack a folding antenna and retracting USB plug to keep the size down, and both have HSPA connectivity with 7.2Mb/s download and 2.0Mb/s upload speeds.
For those of you with desktop PCs crammed to the gills with peripherals, this slot-loading data dock from Brando might be a neat space-saver solution. It takes up just one 3.5-inch drive bay, but has three interchangeable sleds: one for 2.5-inch SATA HDDs, one with a 4-way USB hub and one a multi-type card reader. You simply chose which you need at the time, and slide it into one of the two slots. Cleverly each aluminum-frame sled also functions as an independent USB peripheral, making them pretty useful portable accessories too. Available now for US$69. [Brando]
