To set a potential scene... perhaps you might have a digital camera which takes Compact Flash (CF) memory cards and an MP3 player which takes SmartMedia cards, and perhaps neither device has a fast USB connection. Or perhaps you're running a staff of several people with different cameras and cards. Avoid the confusion of cables and use a memory card reader and, better still, one which can take not just one type but both of the most commonly used memory cards around - CF and SmartMedia.

This is the raison d'être for Dane-Elec's new Photomate Combo memory card reader. It's also compatible with CF-slot based IBM Microdrive cartridges. What you get is a reasonably compact device, which could be confused at a glance for a mouse, that plugs into a spare USB port. Installation is Plug and Play as you would expect, with a driver CD supplied.

Two extra removable disk icons appear in Windows Explorer once the unit has been recognised. A green LED on the Photomate confirms the connection is up and running. This also flickers like a hard disk activity light when transfers are underway.

Despite the two extra drive icons, one thing you can't do is have both a CF card and a SmartMedia card plugged in at the same time. A red plastic door physically prevents the second slot from being accessible when the first is occupied.

In use our Photomate Combo worked faultlessly. The only confusion came when, after a while, the activity light on the unit went out and the drive icons disappeared. We assume this is some kind of power conservation feature, because all that was needed to reactivate the unit was to re-insert the memory card.

Dane-Elec makes flash memory cards, so it is well positioned to supply a memory card reader like the Photomate Combo. Single slot Photomates are also available. If you are forever plugging in your digital camera or MP3 player to transfer data, a Photomate Combo can be a boon. One small quibble; for what you get, it is quite a lot of money, although other, less versatile card readers on the market are not much cheaper.