External Device Reads HDDs, Memory Cards
Scythe's revised Kama Connect multi-adapter received a few new features.
The European arm of Scythe Co. Ltd. has released an upgraded version of its universal S-ATA and IDE multi-adapter, the new Kama Connect Plus. This device will connect various storage solutions via a USB port at the same time including 2.5-inch, 3.5-inch, and 5.25-inch S-ATA and IDE devices. It will even allow for simultaneous operations of one S-ATA drive and one IDE drive.
"Kama Connect Plus is compatible with the Big Drive standard and supports HDDs up to 2TB as well as optical drives such as Blu-Ray and DVD devices," the company said.
New to this model are two additional USB ports and a multi-card reader. This is ideal for transferring files to and from USB drives, media cards, and other devices not supported in the previous model. The company added that Kama Connect PLUS is Plug-n-Play compatible, and supports USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 standards. It is also compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7.
Scythe's Kama Connect Plus measures 2.44-inches (W) x 3.98-inches (D) x 1.18-inches (H), and is now available in the US for $39.99, and in Europe for 29.35 EUR.
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Oh, is that all. When I read the headline I thought it was a wireless device that could "spy" on drives without physically connecting.
Oh, is that all. When I read the headline I thought it was a wireless device that could "spy" on drives without physically connecting.
Lolwut? I saw the title and thought "ah ok, some kind of dock that reads hard drives and memory cards". Maybe that was just me.
$39.99 so I can connect the 10 ide hard drives that I have sitting in a drawer and finally get my old files copied over from past years ! This product I really like
I thought it would be something cooler too, i thought these have been around for a while through other manufactures?
I have one of their old standard SATA/IDE device, it works really well. I use it to attach a DVD drive to my netbook (a lot cheaper than buying a USB DVD drive). I also had to use it at work one time because we needed to get files off a broken machine, but that machine used IDE and all the new machines were SATA.
I never tried using SATA and IDE at the same time but its cool that it supports it.
headline should read, "SATA/IDE to USB cable reads Memory Cards too"
I like it, and I think I want it.
At this stage it should have eSATA and maybe USB 3.0 (instead of USB 2.0). Does anyone seriously think running an IDE and SATA drive at the same time on a single USB 2.0 port will provide even halfway-decent speed?
That said, this could be useful for the computer repairman who wants one device to read and write to just about any digital storage medium and doesn't care about doing so at blazing fast speeds.
A bit expensive, there are a lot of competing devices that do the same thing but are cheaper.
This kind of device is not new, but add in a card reader and now its a new toy. I do not think the price is too bad for something to keep at your work bench or even use with you laptop.
I'd pay a bit more for a USB 3 Variant
Looks nice, kinda like a HDD dock that I'm after.
I'd pay a bit more for a USB 3 Variant
Same!
I see no news in this. I've seen quite a few adapters of this kind for a while now. For example cooldrives.com has similar options going for about the same price.
USB 3 and eSATA would be a waste right now since the vast majority of systems out there right now don't have either.
This device is designed for the "repairman" type use, not the "hook it up to a Netbook" type use. Though hooking up a DVD drive through a $40 multi-used device deserves a "Frugal Computing" award since it is cheaper than buying a new USB DVD drive. Many of us have an old DVD drive lying around already or you can buy one used for a few bucks.
When I checked Newegg this morning they didn't have this product. I sent an e-mail suggesting they carry it. Can't wait to pick one up for less than the $40 MSRP which IMHO is reasonable. This device may not have been released in the US yet.
What is new about this device is that it handles BOTH drives AND cards AND has extra USB ports.
If you've never checked out Scythe's product line do so. I just spotted this interesting item:
http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/ [...] etail.html
It is an amplifier that fits into a bay on your case. They also have speakers that fit into bays in your case. And a drawer. And fan controllers.
I'm not into gaming so all this stuff is new to me. It is amazing what is out there.