Rating: 
Summary: Viking IntelliFlash Reader
Review: I bought the Compact Flash reader a couple months after I bought my digital camera. My camera had a USB slot on it where I could hook it up to my PC, after a couple months of usage I could tell the slot was beginning to get warn out. (Less resale value) So to save my camera some wear and tear I bought this Compact Flash reader and I can't be happier with it. I work as an IT manager and I have installed the reader on Windows 98, 98SE, 2000 and XP systems and it loaded without a hitch every single time. The transfer time is pretty fast and the pictures or other information go over quickly. This is a good product and I believe it will keep me happy for years to come, or until Compact Flash memory becomes obsolete.
Rating: 
Summary: Works with WinME
Review: I purchased the Reader quickly b/c i saw that it had a great mail-in rebate. This was before reading in the reviews section that many ppl have had problems with this unit on WinME. This got me worried. I tried to cancel my order but it was too late. So I decided to wait for it to arrive and test it out.. if it didn't work, I'd sell it off. To my delight, it worked flawlessly the first time. I've used it about 10 times so far. One time the drive wasn't being recognized, but a reboot cured that. Another time I got a blue screen "cannot read" error, but after trying a couple more times it worked. BTW, I downloaded the latest drivers on Viking's website and loaded its drivers instead of using the ones on the CD that came with my unit. The box said ME Compatible, but the CD that it comes with says Win98/95 drivers, nothing about WinME or Win2k. Viking should let users know that they need to DL the latest drivers from their support page for it to work correctly. If I were to do it again, I'd just use my Digicam with USB connection to transfer photos (I read around AFTER placing my order--big mistake. Camera to PC USB connection is pretty quick). I wouldn't have to remove the card all the time and I wouldn't have to buy an external reader. If you have a slow serial connection, buy the Reader. If you have USB, buy an extra set of dedicated rechargeable batteries for file transferring and use the extra money to buy another memory card.
Rating: 
Summary: Good that it's been discontinued
Review: This component didn't work on TWO different computers, a laptop running WinXP and a desktop using Windows 98. I had the correct drivers. When a device doesn't work with one computer, I normally blame the computer. When it doesn't work on TWO computers, I blame the product. I need a card reader but it is very unlikely I will buy anything from this manufacturer. I can't return the bloody thing so I am stuck with it (and out the money).
Rating:
Summary: High Quality, Superb Compatibility, Lowest Price
Review: I purchased this card reader as soon as I saw it on Amazon.com. I have had it now for about two months and continue to enjoy it on a daily basis for many different uses.1. I use it with my digital camera to transfer images to my computer via the compact flash slot. Viking is completely accurate when they state it transfers information about 50 times faster than the method supplied with my digital camera. 2. I use it to transfer large files between my laptop and desktop via the ATA Type II slot. I am constantly creating presentations on my laptop (larger than can fit on a standard floppy drive) that I need to download to my desktop at home. It is a lot faster than my old method of needing to email large files between my laptop and home desktop, or needing to burn a CD-R to transfer the data. Now I can transfer data at 1.5 MB per second (according to the Viking literature) conveniently. 3. I also enjoy the convenience of using the card reader to transfer my MP3 files from my home computer to my MP3 player via the SmartMedia card slot. This combo card reader that reads all three form factors (ATA Type II/PCMCIA, Compact Flash, and SmartMedia) was an ingenious idea. The ability for Viking to keep the price so low is also amazing! P.S. It took about 1 minute to install this USB device on Windows 98. Nothing complicated, just plug it in and insert the included Viking CD-ROM. I Highly recommend this product!
Rating:
Summary: Still simply perfect.
Review: I first bought (and have reviewed) the SanDisk reader, with which I had too many drive conflicts and installation problems. The Viking unit was purchased as a replacement and has been flawless for 9 months and 1000s of transfers. It is better thought out, and this is apparent from the moment you open the box and notice how it is neatly and carefully packaged. I installed the Viking software (30 seconds, no options), rebooted and plugged the drive into my USB port. It was recognized by the OS and the correct drivers were installed and, voila, I was in business! I seems to read a little faster than the ScanDisk drive, has better indicator lights for on/active & reading, and includes an adapter that allows you to use the CompactFlash card in your laptop without need of the larger drive. As a last little bonus, the drive can also read SmartMedia cards!
Rating:
Summary: I Love It!
Review: The product works wonderfully for transfering data to my computer from my PDA or Digital Camera. It was very easy to install and has a screaming fast transfer rate! Other reviewers have stated that the reader doesn't work with Windows 2000. I'd like to mention that a friend of mine bought one and he uses it with Windows 2000 daily. He has no problems with it. However, the Amazon site does not state anywhere that it is compatible with Windows 2000. I also checked the Viking site and they do not guarantee compatibility (eventhough they are kind enough to include a driver for Windows 2000). Maybe the driver isn't perfect yet so Amazon and Viking are reluctant to state it is fully compatible with Windows 2000 still? P.S. The reader doesn't work with my Diamond RIO MP3 player but it does work just fine with my Lyra. I guess Diamond does something to the card that makes it incompatible with any other device once it is used in the RIO. Strange, huh? Anyway, I highly recommend this product.
Rating:
Summary: Very good device, very fast.
Review: This was the best way for me to tranfer my photots onto the computer. It is fast, and is very easy to use. The camera (Olympus) I bought was difficult and slow download the photos to the computer so this was the best option.
Rating:
Summary: Sucks
Review: Piece of garbage. If it "eats" one of your cards it's impossible to retrieve it. First card I put in was swalloed by the thing. Secondly, what I received from them was not what's displayed in the picture. I actually ended up with something more complex. There were no instructions on how to use it, or if the SmartMedia card was inserted face-up or face-down (Face down is how my card got eaten). I had to break the stupid thing open in order to retrieve my card. I'll never buy another one of their products.
Rating:
Summary: axcellent
Review: just the controllers for windows xp you have to download from internet it would be better if you just plug and play with no controllers, but it works excellent
Rating:
Summary: Save your money - try something else!
Review: I originally bought this for my old ... machine. It worked OK, but the computer frequently crashed (total crash-blue screen). I thought it was the computer's fault (it WAS old, after all). Then I bought a brand-new ... with all the bells and whistles. ... I downloaded and installed ... drivers for everything, including the Viking card reader. Then the new computer started blue screen crashing. Every time it did, I was using the memory card reader. I uninstalled it - no more crashes. Viking says that the fact that their equipment/drivers have not passed WHQL testing doesn't matter? It matters. This unit does perfect, very fast downloads of digital camera images. But every third time your computer crashes and you lose all your unsaved data. Not worth it. Spend the $$$ on a video game.
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