I've got a Nikon camera that uses SD cards, and there have been times when I've taken a load of photos at some event and my friends have then asked if they could have some copies. Normally I would just remove the SD card from the camera and slot it into their computer's SD Card Reader slot to copy over any photos that they wanted. But there have been a few occasions where people have had older computers without an SD reader making it more difficult. Hence, I did a little research on Amazon and came across this SD Reader that uses the USB connection on your computer, and at only £2.35 it was cheap enough (and small enough) to purchase and carry round in my camera case for when I needed to transfer photos again.

What is it? Well it looks like, and is about the same size as, a USB memory stick, measuring 65 mm long and 24 mm wide, so small enough to easily fit into your pocket or purse, or in my case, my camera case. But what gives it away as being different to a memory stick is the thin single slot on one edge, which is where you slot in your SD card. The idea is that you slot in your SD card into the device and then connect it to a USB 2.0 socket on your computer. Your computer should recognise it as a new removable drive, where you will be able to open it in a window on your computer and view all of the files/photos on your SD Card. From there, you can then separately transfer all of your files back and forth as required. No need to install any drivers to your computer, and very fast transfer rates.

For the techie people reading this review, let's look at a few of the technical aspects of this device. For starters it will handle SD cards up to the newer SDHC types (the higher capacity SD cards), but equally take the smaller cards such as the mini and micro SDHC and SD types. It is fully compatible with all versions of Windows, requiring no driver installation before use, and easily connects to any USB port on your computer, but the USB 2.0 will give you the faster transfer rates. Of note, no batteries are required with this device because it draws the power through the USB connection.

In use, this device couldn't be any easier. I've never had any problems with it not being able to connect to, or be recognised by a Windows based PC. The transfer rate is quick and would be comparable to any mid-range USB memory stick, and the literature provided quotes the rate as being 40x faster than a conventional camera cable connection to a PC. Interestingly, I also managed to use it once on a friend's printer that didn't have an SD slot, but did have a USB socket, which then allowed us to print some photos directly from the SD Card via this device.

In summary, this is a simple device to use to transfer photos from your SD Card to your computer. Cheap enough to purchase, and small enough to fit in to your pocket or purse, this is a must have device for anyone who uses SD Cards in their cameras. Hence, a 5* recommendation.