| I-Rocks Crystal USB 2.0 Card Reader & Hub Combo - Page 1 of 2 |
PCUSA Corporation has sent over a new product from I-Rocks called the Crystal USB 2.0 Card Reader & Hub Combo. In case you are not familiar with them, I-Rocks is a Chinese company that has been in the computer peripheral business for some 13 years. A quick look at their website tells us that they produce a wide range of computer components, such as: keyboards, mice, hard drive enclosures, and USB Card Readers... many of which have been covered in previous reviews at Bigbruin.com.
The Basics:
The Crystal USB 2.0 Card Reader & Hub Combo came in a standard plastic clam shell type package that PCUSA Corporation wrapped in bubble pack and sent in a FedEx shipping box.
 
Once you cut open the package you find the Card Reader/Hub, a small instruction pamphlet, a mini disk with USB drivers, a USB cord, an AC adaptor cord, and a small felt carrying bag with draw strings.
Features (from the PCUSA Corporation site):
• Compatible with Universal Serial Bus (USB) Specifications V 2.0
• Backward compatible to USB 1.1
• Plug and Play – automatic detection and installation of peripherals
• Hot swappable – allows the addition or removal of devices while the computer is on
• Connects up to 127 devices with additional hubs
• All downstream ports can handle high-speed(480Mbps), full-speed(12Mbps), and low-speed(1.5Mbps) transaction.
• Supports self-powered mode only.
• Supports Over-current detection and individual power control
• Supports both OHCI and EHCI
• USB bus powered, no external power is needed.
• Support for storage card including :
• CompactFlash TM Card Type I & II
• IBM Micro Drive
• SmartMedia TM Card
• Secure Digital Card
• MultiMedia Card
• Memory Stick TM
• Memory Stick PRO TM
• Memory Stick Duo TM (need MS Duo adapter)
• Memory Stick PRO Duo TM (need MS Duo adapter)
• A convenient and a fast data exchange (MP3, PDA, Digital Camera, data, etc…).
System Requirement (from the PCUSA Corporation site):
• IBM PC or Macintosh computer with USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 host.
• Either the following operating systems:
• Windows 98/SE
• Windows 2000
• Windows ME
• Windows XP
• MAC OS 8.6
• MAC OS 9.X
• MAC OS X 10.1 or later
Specifications (from the PCUSA Corporation site):
• Basic Power Consumption: 300mA
• Limit Current Protection: 1250mA
• Root (upstream) Port: 1 series-B receptacle
• Downstream Ports: 3 series-A receptacles
• Socket of storage card:
• CompactFlash TM Card Type I / II
• IBM MicroDrive
• SmartMedia TM Card
• Secure Digital Card
• MultiMedia Card
• Memory Stick TM
• Memory Stick PRO TM
• Memory Stick Duo TM (need MS adapter)
• Memory Stick PRO Duo TM (need MS adapter)
Setup:
Setup really could not be any easier. Anyone running Windows XP or 2000 will only have to connect one end of the USB cable to an open USB port and the other end to the Reader/Hub. The “New Hardware Wizard” will start automatically and load the appropriate drivers from there. If you are using Windows 98 (or older), you will have to use the included mini disk to load the drivers.
I-Rocks includes an AC power adaptor so you have the option of running the unit off of the power coming from your PC's USB bus, or you can power it independently through the AC adaptor. This could be very handy for those with many USB devices and a marginal power supply in their PC, or laptop users who are trying to get the longest uptime out of their laptop battery. I used the unit both ways and had no issues with either method.
Please read on to the next page for more... Next
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