"All Your Memory Cards Are Belong To Us!" Say the Japanese from Elecom

Memory cards are among the most popular flash-based storage solutions around, as they pack quite a lot of storage capacity in a very slim and portable form factor. Nevertheless, working with a large number of various formats can prove to be quite a difficult task and this is the reason why the Japanese company Elecom came up with the MR-C12, a new multiple memory card reader/writer with a little twist.

Although one might think that the MR-C12 is capable of reading a large number of various memory cards in the same time, the truth, unfortunately, is much more mundane. Thus, the device has been fitted with just one (albeit universal) memory card slot, the rest of the space being used for storing various types of memory cards. Moreover, since the storage space doesn't have any separate space specially designed for certain specific memory card types, one can cram in there just about anything he/she wants. Nevertheless, the device from Elecom does provide quite a high level of versatility, as it is compatible with most memory card models and formats available on the market (19 out of the box, plus another 7 by using a special adapter). Thus, the card reader can accommodate SD and SDHC cards (all models), MMC and MMC 4.0, RS-MMC, RS-MMC 4.0, MMC micro, Memory Stick, Memory Stick MagicGate and Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick PRO high speed and Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Duo MagicGate and Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo high speed and Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Micro (M2), Memory Stick ROM, as well as XD picture card, xD picture card type M and xD picture card type H.

The card reader connects to the host computer via a 5-cm USB 2.0 cable (built-in) for both transferring data and power and works with the most popular platforms and operating systems around, namely PC (Windows Vista/XP/2000 (after SP3)/Me) or Mac (Mac OS X 10.2 and higher). Moreover, it's not exactly slim, as it measures around 98 mm x 61 mm x 15 mm, at a weight of around 50 grams.

The new MR-C12 memory card reader will be shipping in mid-October (for now, solely in Japan) and will have an approximate retail price of around 2,520 Japanese Yen (around 22 US dollars), which is actually a pretty OK price to pay for this thing because, after all, chances are that you won't need another memory card reader or carrying case....ever.

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