Entered CNET Catalog: 11/07/2003
SKU: F8E461
Manufacturer: Apple Inc.
Manufacturer description
The Belkin iPod Media Reader allows you store digital images and photos in your iPod. Your iPod's abundant storage handles thousands of digital photos and frees up your camera's disk space so you can take more pictures. Simply connect the Media Reader to your iPod, and insert any of the six supported media types. Using software support that's already built in your iPod, transfer the pictures quickly via FireWire technology and you're ready to start shooting again. To retrieve the images, simply connect your iPod to your computer. It's like having unlimited storage space for all your photos.User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3out of 3 user reviews
Room For Improvement
Pros: Allows you to free up some compact flash
Cons: Doen't Do RAW
For the price it is a reasonable tool; however, let's improve the performance with RAW capabilities and longer battery life.
out of 3 user reviews
simple no frills file transfer that lets you use your iPOD to take more photos
Pros: compact and lightweight bridge that saves you hundreds in media cards
Cons: doesn't let you know if you've already uploaded the files
Initially not too sure about the higher price I tested the unit out before my trip on the Yucatan Peninsula. Everything worked easily on the test run. Armed with two 1gig cards I took thousands of photos on my trip and felt my stomach churn as I uploaded them to my iPOD. I saw the files but still wasn't sure how they would transfer, would they be corrupt? The green flashing light suggested all was going well. Would I lose all my photos? Of course I continued to fill the 12gigs of blank space on my iPOD and hoped for the best.
Each transfer was 15 or 20 mins on a full card. As others have reviewed you only have batch transferring. I also forgot a few times whether I had cleared my card or not so I uploaded it anyway. I didn't care for the fact that it doesn't let you know if you have already transfered the files. It just creates another folder and puts duplicates on your iPOD, so be aware and clear your cards after each download.
The moment of truth was at hand. When I arrived home I connected my iPOD and transferred the files. Everything went smooth as silk. I had thousands of photos and only two 1gig cards and the media transfer tool. At the price of another 1gig card the Belkin Media Reader was worth it's weight in gold. I had for $70 the equivalent of 13 extra gigs of space. This would require you to either have, or clear some extra space on your iPOD.
Overall there are more expensive media transfer (mini computers) with screens out there. They cost thousands of dollars and are much larger. When camera equipment is heavy enough the last thing you want is more bulk and weight. Your first time feels like a leap of faith but you get used to the fact that you can't review your photos once transferred. I assume the iPOD photo would have the ability.. however that is a much larger investment.
out of 3 user reviews
After driving for miles to exchange units, we could only deduce that 'maybe' it was the memory card.
Pros: Esay enough to use but no security of photos being transferred. It was bad enough when (Apple trained?)suppliers didn't even know iPods could be used for photo storage. But now if there are problems (like I had) getting help from these trained people seem
Cons: Unreliable performance between two new Belkins and a new iPod. Won't know the result until after the holiday and/or after testing another memory card. So far it's been extremely frustrating. Apple should do better with such simple concepts. If they are go
