Memory-Card Reviews

Just another example of technology forcing us to upgrade. I have been uising SmartMedia for three years, love my Olympus Cameras and now we are going to have this forced down our throats?

Maybe PDA's and MP3's need this, but the camera format we had was just fine!

Do not succumb!

A new format is a good thing. If you dont like change then dont use it. There is no reason to complain. This is a fine way to store pictures, and there is nothing wrong with technological advancement. Good products live on (mostly) and bad ones go away.
The xD is smaller and faster, and has more potential in the long run. If a better one comes along, so be it. It seems to be reliable in terms of storing memory. Isnt that the most important thing?

The xD Card is super small and super cool. What I also like is the convenience of using the FujiFilm USB jump-drive available for $29 which allows you to use the card as a double for file storage, and is a great method of taking a fist full of pics to share with the family.

I'm definitely happy. Incidentally, I bought the FinePix S3000 camera which uses the xD card. There were consistent reviews about problems with indoor pictures with the camera in limited light. The flash does just fine indoors, and I was amazed with the battery life after so many flash shots.

As with a lot of similar products, sandisk's should only be considered by people who don't need any documentation. That's because there isn't any. If it doesn't work first time, then forget it. There's no documentation, not even on their web site. So please Sandisk, how about some customer support?

I'm writing this review from my Ipaq 1935 using the card. Installation was quick and easy. Loading pages is a bit slow but I'm not sure whether it is due to card or hardware (memory). I'm sure it's not the connection because I'm sitting next to the router. Well, as the title says, the card works pretty good and I recommend it

I debated long and hard about buying a PDA with integrated WiFi and this SD card was my compromise. It's definitely nicer on the budget than splurging for integration. And it's alot less inconvenient then I thought it would be. I've found the card easy to install and it never drops my connection. You just pop it in the memory slot and it does its thing. Even when I'm walking from hotspot to hotspot, I don't have to pay attention to it at all.

Ok here are the caveats. 1) It's a little slow loading webpages, but that could be due to my pda hardware or the network at my school which I found to be slow using the wifi on my laptop. 2) I once had a problem that it suddenly wasn't recognizing the networks. However I reinstalled the driver and it worked perfectly. 3) Sandisk doesn't yet have a driver for Palm OS, a problem that my Palm friends complain about relentlessly. But it serves them right for choosing Palm, right?

Nevertheless, I give this card a 5 star rating because the flaws are rather minor and in the ever-important areas of cost and convenience, it surpassed all my expectations.

I installed this Viking 128MB in my DELL L433c in second memory slot.. First slot has original 128MB DELL 311-0410. Machine crashed (blue screen) upon booting into Windows 98. Pulled the Viking memory out.. machine comes up fine.. tried installing just the Viking memory (in place of the DELL memory).. upon booting screen goes blank after DELL screen.. will not BOOT up..
Incompatible with DELL 311-0410 PERIOD!! I have learned from Viking support that the correct memory is Viking part number DL1664CL3P8.

Ordered Dell compatible (311-0410) Viking DL 1664P 128 MB PC 100 CL3. Vendor shipped wrong item and so far, dealing with Viking is a nightmare.

I have an older Dell model R400 Dimension desktop computer that came equiped with 96MB of RAM. I primarily use the machine for surfing the net and was looking for increased speed. After doing some research, I determined that the R400 can be upgraded to 384MB (max) of RAM. I purchased (3) of the Viking 128 MB non-ECC DIMM's - installation was a snap (pun intended) and the performance of the PC is signifcantly improved. Web pages update much faster, and the hard drive is not nearly as busy as before. Highly recommended upgrade if you'd like to stretch another few years out of your Dell RXXX machine before buying a new one.

I purchased two Magellan Meridian Color Traveler kits to try and give my father-in-law. Both were defective. Unit one worked properly as long as there were no memory cards with detail maps in the unit. If there were, the unit would hang forever "loading" and it would never find enough satellites to get a fix. The mapping software installed and worked. Extended sessions with Magellan tech support produced the advice "return for repair." Amazon did a fantastic job rushing a replacement out to me. Unit 2 arrived and it wouldn't even boot (no base map). Magellan Technical support coached me through reflashing the unit. Same error. Magellan technical supports final advice was to return the unit for repair. The copy protection was so good on this copy of the mapping software that it wouldn't run on either of my computers. It didn't complain it just hung and had to be manually terminated.
I returned the second unit to Amazon and ordererd a Garmin 76CS. I will throw away the Magellan accessories I ordered to give my father-in-law.
Unless I have confirmation that Magellan's hardware and software quality control have improved a lot I will not consider them for any future acquisitions.

When I first got the unit, I loved it. It appeared accurate, though it took a long time to acquire satellites at times. In fact, many times my Delorme Earthmate would acquire within 15 seconds, and the Meridian would take several minutes (while moving in a car sitting on the dash). The ability to use SD/MMC cards and load maps onto the unit was great for general usage. I used Magellan GPS for everything, from hiking, kayaking, driving, to boating.

HOWEVER, the specs say that the unit is IPX7 compliant, which means accidental submersion underwater for up to 30 minutes in 1 meter of water. I was in a kayak, got hit by a wave with the Meridian in my pocket, and was in less than 1 meter of water for less than 15 seconds, and water made it's way into the unit.

I sent Magellan/Thales navigation an email and gave them a call but was not given much help, even though I own multiple Magellan products (including the GPS companion, etc...). They noted that I could have it serviced for $150, which is what an new unit cost (this was not the platinum edition, but it is the same form factor and same case). All customer service would tell me is that sometimes water may enter through the keypad area. Well, if water enters through the keypad area, how can they advertise that it is IPX7 compliant?

I may be an isolated incident. However, with the customer service I received, I don't think I would ever buy another Magellan product, and will probably get rid of the rest of my Magellan products. I think the product design, features, usability, and intuitiveness is great, just the product does not perform up to expectations or promise. I would also consider customer service as well.

The Meridian Color GPS is great. The unit is small but the screen is easy enough to see in my truck. To get the detailed maps I need I am using a 256meg SD card with Map Send Direct Route. It is easy to load maps and mark places I want to see to the GPS and then "goto" them while I am traveling. I have used unit in the San Francisco rain and it worked perfectly, I am not sure why the other reviewer had water problems.

Pros: I will never be lost again, Expandable memory, Color screen, Turn by turn directions, Nice sized unit that easily fits in my jacket pocket, Quick to pick up satellites, Intuitive menus

Cons: Battery life could be better, Comes with a serial connection for the computer A USB type would have been been better since most computers do not use serial anymore, Magellan is vague about availability of map updates but so is Garmin so it's probably the norm for GPS companies.

WARNING: The Panasonic SD-80 does not allow any protected files to be uploaded, legally purchased or not. It a great little player, the right size and lots of functionality BUT, if you can't upload your favorite music its not very functional. Since the future trend is to purchase songs rather than albums, more and more music will be purchased off Internet sites. None of these songs will be useable on the SD-80 and Panasonic has stated it has no intention of revising the software to allow the upload of legally purchased protected files. Great little player, BUT A WASTE OF MONEY.

I've spent the last hour trying to install software so that my boyfriend can use my computer to put music onto his MP3 player. While the SV-SD85 is small, cute, has good sound quality and is relatively tough, the software is proprietary and if you're disorganized, like he is, then you will loose the install drivers. Well, don't because it has a version of realplayer on it that has coding specific to panasonic. If you try to drag and drop files, you will be sorely disappointed (like I was). Don't try to go to the Panasonic website to download the drivers either, they're not there.

This thing is really small but excellent for a person that is on the go. The footprint of the unit is so small that you forget you have it on while working out at the Gym or running. It has a lot of nice features and good software that lets you rip your CD's to MP3 for use with the unit. Another advantage that people don't really make use of is that with a cassette adapter you can use this thing in your car and get the same high quality sound in you car or truck. Without having to buy $600 or more in car audio equipment.

I guess you get what you pay for. A great price but it does not work in a Laserjet 1100. I wouldn't believe the other reviews. I got an "Incompatible DIMM" message. Installed memory several times and even reinstalled printer driver. Don't waste your time or money.

This product, which is billed as compatible with HP Part #4137A, should be compatible with the Laserjet 1100 series printer as well. However, to my dismay, it locked up the printer every time it was installed -- and yes, it was installed properly.

This memory works properly in my HP Laser Jet 2100TN. The price is excellent, and going from 8 MB 40MB massively speeds the printing of large .pdf files.

Mine must have had the fix already in place for disabling the power saving feature. I bought this for my wife for mother's day and so far... it works... I like the fact you can rotate the image if it was in landscape mode. It does sort of "zoom out" and thus the only real way to do it so it looks good is to use some photo editing software.

One thing I have noticed is that the pics of sometimes have a "flicker" depending on if their are lines in the image (like power lines in the backgrond). Also some colors flicker like crazy like the green leaves in images of Yosemite. This is really minor.

This is a great product, a fine gift, espcially for those who love photographs but are not techie or don't have a computer. I was diappointed in the auto shut-off feature that couldn't be disabled, but the fix below from our friend " A customer from West Des Moines, Ia" is brilliant and worked for me the first time, with less than three minutes time invested. The company should send him/her a dozen of these picture frames for figuring this out!

Great Product!
There's now a firmware fix for the auto shut-off.
My unit has a line on the setup screen to immobilise this feature.
Good to hear a manufacturer responding to customer feedback - thanks Vialta!
I think earlier units can be upgraded too - need to contact Vialta for that.
I use Vistaframe at home for the family pictures, and also for business presentations. Easy to set up and I can run Powerpoint presentations when the slides are saved as jpeg pictures.
Also use it in office reception window to promote our company services.
Great graphics & really wide viewing area.
Previous reviewer had display problems, but mine are great.
5 Stars from me.Recommended.

I wish I had went with my gut instinct and taken the advise of the other reviewers that had less than two thumbs up for this product and Viking Tech Support. 3 sets of modules later my system still does not find the modules compatiable and Viking support states that there is nothing more they can do "Our information says that they should work". So much for their information. And so far I have had no response from Viking about returning the product and receiving credit. By the way you will have to deal directly with Viking for returns, Amazon does not assist in this area expect to provide you with an e-mail address and 1-800 #. So my advise to you is to contact your system's maker and find out from them if your system will take Viking's products.

Be careful when buying this memory - it didnt work with my Compaq 7360 - although the website says it is supposed to. However, I have used a similar viking part in the past (Viking PC10032X64-CL3 256 MB PC100 CL3 DIMM Memory) which works just fine with my Compaq 7360!!! I dont know what the difference is... If you do, please let me know!

Despite the claim of guaranteed compatibility, this memory card was NOT compatible with my Compaq Presario! You should check first with Compaq to determine if this will work with your Presario.

Also, the Viking website was a disaster when I went for technical assistance. First, they clearly advertised 24/7 telephone technical support --- wrong, it was the usual daytime hours. Second, there was absolutely no useful documentation to assist in installation of this particular memory card.

Buyer beware

I am also having trouble in reading Lexar 128MB memory stick. On Dazzle / Zio website I was not able to get firmware update. I am using Windows 2000 so can somebody post a link to firmware update on zio's website>

The Dazzle reader doesn't work with my 128MB lexar stick. But it works fine with my 128MB sony stick and my 128MB sandisk stick. The lexar stick works fine in my camera and in my hp officejet's reader. I'd stay away from this reader.

I encountered the same problems with a Lexar 128MB memory stick that have been mentioned by other reviewers. I discovered that dazzle has a firmware update for this reader available on their website. I downloaded, installed and ran the firmware updater and have had no problems with the reader since.

There's not much more to say. I wish the cord was about 2 feet longer. I have my USB hub on the floor, and the cord is barely long enough to reach --- and the reader is at the back of the desk. If it was a bit longer, I'd be able to pull it closer to the keyboard when I'm using it.

I can't exaggerate the number of problems that I have been plagued with due to this reader. Through multiple OSs and a couple years it has managed to cause far more problems than any other hardware I've had. It's horrible delayed delete is already documented by others, so I won't bother repeating that. It's crashing systems is documented by others too. There's no support, that too is documented. Since the price is 11% of the MSRP that should speak for itself.

Cant recommend this product, broke after a month, cannot get support

This product has been a nightmare. I bought it a year ago when I got my Olympus C2100UZ digital camera. Since then, I've had the following problems:
1. When windows says it's done copying files, i remove the card only to find a read-write error that it wasn't complete after all.
2. Copy errors(files not accessable) when copying data to my CF card for use in my Pocket PC.
3. EUSBMSD.SYS file (used for this card reader) would hard crash my system when playing games (Dark age of camelot) or using my cd-burning software (NERO).
4. Their "winXP certified drivers" don't do anything. It's the same problems.
5. Had two cards of holiday pictures. Inserted card A and copied all files off. Then deleted the pics off the card. Inserted card B, and found that there were no pictures! Inserted Card A again, and the pictures that I DELETED were still there! So now i'm out 148 pictures thanks to this defective product.

Avoid this at all costs, i'm sure there are better, more reliable readers out there.