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Delkin offers USB 3.0 flash card reader

The new, higher-speed version of USB is catching on in computers, and now photographers and videographers with overstuffed flash cards can benefit.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland
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Delkin Devices' 3.0 Multi-Card Reader and Writer
Delkin Devices' 3.0 Multi-Card Reader and Writer Delkin Devices

Photographers and videographers with a lot of data spend a lot of time waiting for files to transfer to their computers, sometimes paying a premium for FireWire 800 ports to edge out the speeds of USB 2.0.

Now the USB 3.0 generation of flash card readers is starting to arrive, though, including Delkin Devices' $40 USB 3.0 Multi-Card Reader and Writer. The company announced yesterday that the products are now shipping from its San Diego factory.

Its raw data transfer rate of 5 gigabits per second promises to leapfrog the 800 megabits per second of FireWire 800 and the 480Mbps of USB 2.0, though Delkin says actual transfer speeds are actually about 3.2Gbps. That'll transfer two hours of 1080p video in 26 seconds, the company said.

Delkin's card reader can handle SD cards (including the newer high-capacity SDXC variety) and CompactFlash cards (including the newer variety with faster UDMA interfaces), the two main flash card formats cameras use today. It also can handle microSD, Memory Stick, and xD, and some other formats.

USB 3.0 is just starting to catch on in computers and external hard drives, but expect the standard to become more ordinary in other devices as chipset sales volume increases and prices drop.

Separately, Delkin also announced its Elite 633X line of SDHC flash memory cards with read speeds of 95 megabytes per second and write speeds of 80MBps. They cards use the UHS-1 (ultra high-speed) interface.

The cards come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities at prices of $139.99, $249.99, and $439.99, respectively.

Delkin says a 64GB SDXC model in the family is "planned for the near future," the company said.