6-in-1 Media Reader for $20 (maybe $18) after mail-in rebate

[catrats]

Ok, this may be a little update on a similar thread I created last month but that thread focused mostly on a different media reader. Enough with my babbling, here are the details -- the Dazzle DM-8400 6-in-1 Media Reader can read the following six media formats:

- CompactFlash (CF)
- MicroDrive (MD)
- SmartMedia (SM)
- MultiMedia Card (MMC)
- Secure Digital (SD)
- Memory Stick (MS)

Zones.com is currently offering the Dazzle media reader for $41. For some unknown reason, they neglected to mention that this product currently has a $20 mail-in rebate, effective until February 28, 2002, which would bring the total down to $21 after rebate.

The next best deal for a multi-format media reader comes from NewEgg for $30 but it doesn't read Memory Sticks so that may be a better deal for some if you don't like rebates.

UPDATE: Dell is also offering the Dazzle media reader but for $40. There's also a rumored 15% coupon floating around that may bring it down to $38 but I have yet to find a reference to it. After rebate, this would make it $18.

 

[RossMAN]

For those who aren't familar with the previous thread here it is.

Oh and BTW catrats I haven't forgotten about your questions, I have just been too busy and haven't had time to play around with the other 6-in-1 reader but when I do I will update your previous thread answering all the questions that I can.

Since it's only $21 after rebate, it might be worth buying the Dazzle just to compare both products side-by-side.

 

[Justincase]

Bleh.

Zones.com availability on the Dazzle reader: middle of next month, and add about $5.50 shipping.

 

[catrats]

It seems like Zones.com received their shipment earlier than expected. Currently, the Dazzle DM8400 multi-media reader is showing as "IN STOCK".

 

[Justincase]

Thanks catrats.

Anyone know of a coupon / incentive program for Zones.com, other than the Free Shipping on $200 coupon?

 

[Baaka]

is it read only?? or can we write too???

 

[Justincase]

Oops...I almost ordered this reader, but the $20.00 rebate goes to Parago, which WAS the best rebate center until recently, but is now one of the worst. Rebater beware.

 

[catrats]

<< Oops...I almost ordered this reader, but the $20.00 rebate goes to Parago, which WAS the best rebate center until recently, but is now one of the worst. Rebater beware. >>

Justincase, what are you referring to? Where are you reading this?

 

[Justincase]

I'm not reading it...going by experience. I have done dozens of rebates and have always praised Parago for their excellence in fulfilling rebates and dealing with customer issues. I have NEVER had more than 1 overdue rebate at any time, and even those came in short order after I called the rebate center.
I don't think I should enumerate all the details here, since it's off the topic, but suffice to say that since the first of the year Parago has been terrible in both fulfillment and in supplying answers as to what is going on...a supervisor today told me that there was 'a change in the system' that is 'causing problems', but he refused to in any way discuss the nature of the problem or when any overdue rebates will be released. Despite pressing him for answers, all I got was vague promises. I would just be careful with Parago at this point in time.

 

[Crank]

JustinCase... Does this mean that what those annoying CSR's at Philips were saying might be true ?!?!!?! Did I misplace a lot of my angst when Philips really wasn't totally culpable!?!? Say it ain't so....

I just got this reader tonight, and it's pretty cool. I've never used any other, so I don't have anything to compare it to, but setup was a snap, and yes, it does read as well as write to any type of flash media that I've ever heard of.
I bought mine at CrapUSA for $50, I'll PM with Blue to ~ $37, hope that I get the rebate (thanks for the heads up JustinC), and have the thing for $20 when all is said and done.

Good deal if you ask me.
Oh, BTW, if you are using Win2K or newer, you don't even need drivers for this - windows automatically recognizes it. Pretty cool.

 

[Justincase]

>>>JustinCase... Does this mean that what those annoying CSR's at Philips were saying might be true ?!?!!? Did I misplace a lot of my angst when Philips really wasn't totally culpable!?!? Say it ain't so.<<<

I was actually thinking about the Philips thing today, after my very non-productive call to Parago this afternoon. As I recall, Philips said Parago 'went out of business.' Philips lied about that, among other things (I continued to receive Parago rebates for many weeks after Philips made that statement). Philips may or may not have been 100% at fault for what happened, but regardless, they sure did handle the entire matter VERY poorly. Anyway, Parago does seem to be having some kind of trouble at this time and I personally am staying away from all Staples/Parago rebates and any CompUSA/New Rochelle rebates until all of the rebates from Thanksgiving are paid.

Thanks for the info on the Dazzle reader - I too wondered whether it could be written to...I just assumed it could. Should work great as a 'big floppy' with a 128MB or 256MB memory card, for those that get this deal

 

[catrats]

<< I would just be careful with Parago at this point in time. >>

I'm sorry Justincase, I was actually questioning how it is that you knew it was going to "Parago".

 

[Justincase]

Ah, I guess I misunderstood then also. Sorry about that. The mailing address for this rebate is Box 9710, McAllen, TX which is home to Parago.

 

[Crank]

Hmmmm....remember when I said you don't need drivers for Win 2K? I'm not sure that's entirely true.
I just got my reader home and plugged it into my Win2K machine (previously I had only used it on my GF's Win 98/se laptop). It recognized it and loaded a driver automatically, but it would only recognize the CF slot, not the other slot which takes SM/MMC/MemStick.....so, I loaded the drivers that came with it, and everything's working fine.
Just a little annoyed because what if you take it to a friend's house and are using something other than a CF??
The way Windows is, it might have just not installed the driver the right way. I'm going to take it to work on Monday and try it on my Win2K machine there, I'll report back if anyone's interested.
I suppose you could still make this a cheaper solution than the Pen Drive by getting a basically free 8MB CF card and just keeping the driver on that ? Kind of a pain, but it would be a 100% failsafe solution.....

 

[catrats]

Justincase, thanks for the clarification and the heads-up. Even without the rebate, this would still seem to be a good deal, just not a hot deal.

Crank, any update you can provide would be appreciated regarding compatibility with Windows 2000. Thanks.

 

[SolderSucker]

I got my Dazzle reader today. It works perfectly in win2k for me. I thinks it is an excellent value for $26 after rebate and shipping. Also, I have no concern over getting my rebate from Parago. They are one of the best rebate houses i would say. I bought a printer and scanner from the Staples Thanksgiving sale and i got my $100 in rebates in about 5-6 weeks. I even got a rebate for a monitor i didn't send the upc for. I think people are giving Parago a bad rap over the Phillips rebate fiasco and Phillips was most likely trying to get out of paying the rebates than Parago screwing up. Just my opinion. Anyhow, If you need a memory reader I don't think u can go wrong with this deal.

 

[Crank]

Oh, the reader is 100% compatible with Win2K, as long as you have the drivers that Dazzle supplies.
Even if you don't, you can access the Compact flash portion of the drive --basically, the reader is two drives in one, one drive solely for compact flash, the other for SmartMedia/MemoryStick/MMC.
Win2K automatically recognized the CF drive, but I haven't found a way to get it to recognize the SM/MS/MMC drive without installing the drivers that come with it.
It's not a big deal except for the fact that Dazzle markets it as not needing any outside drivers for Win2K/XP.
I've e-mailed them to find out if there's a workaround - what if you want to use this thing in multiple locations with a SM card? Wel, then you have to carry the CD with the drivers around....unless Dazzle has a workaround.
Well, my first reponse from them was basically a reference to their webpage showing a user how to install their drivers. I sent a follow up e-mail asking for clarification, and have yet to receive a reply. I'll let you guys know if/when I hear from them.

In any case, I'm quite happy with this reader/writer. If you plan to use CF as your removable media of choice, you can take this thing darn near anywhere and have it work just fine. I happen to have an extra SM card sitting around, which is why I'm being a bitch about Win2k being able to recognize the second drive w/o the Dazzle drivers!

In any event, a good product at an unbeatable price.

 

[Justincase]

>>>I think people are giving Parago a bad rap over the Phillips rebate fiasco<<<

By 'people', I guess you mean me :Q For the record, I was one of those that was supportive of Parago with regard to the Phillips fiasco. Parago's service was unequalled by any rebate house that I had dealt with. In 2001, I had no significant issues with the dozens of Parago rebates that I sent in [other than the Philips thing], but that all changed towards the end of December and throughout January 2002. My comments in this thread were prompted by their inattentiveness to current outstanding rebates, the number of which has mushroomed from a maximum of 1 at any time last year...to the present 4 overdue rebates. Last week I spoke to a supervisor, who I expected to expedite my 1-month-overdue rebate...but he was unable to give me any straight answers to any of my questions, and this led me to express my loss of confidence in Parago. The oldest rebate, which dates back to 10/31/2001, is now 5 weeks OVERDUE. I spoke to another supervisor at Parago yesterday, and was told that all of my rebates would be 'expedited' and should be received in 15 business days...2 weeks ago, I was told that my oldest rebate would be "expedited and should be received within 15 business days." Deja vu all over again. Still no check numbers, and my rebate status on that rebate has remained the same for the last 82 days. I don't make statements against any company without good reason. Parago has clearly gone downhill from what I can see, and there hasn't been any sign of life on any of my rebates so far this year. They may eventually come through with all the rebates, but until they do, I would only do a deal if it makes financial sense without counting on a Parago rebate to come through.

 

[catrats]

Last bump in case anyone was still interested in taking advantage of the rebate which will expire in a few days.

 

[RossMAN]

Thanks for the bump. Those of us who purchased the Kodak DX3700 for $169.99 should really look into buying a 5-in-1 or 6-in-1 media reader like this. I've had the Acomdata one since late December and now that I have a digicam (don't know where I put my Fuji Finepix 1400) I can take pictures of my Acomdata and transfer them to my PC.

 

[RossMAN]

Since my sister recently purchased a Kodak DX3700 I think she might buy this from Zones or NewEgg. Take a look at these glowing reviews from NewEgg.com:

--

N/A,2/15/2002 7:16:04 PM

Great product at a great price. Reads and writes. Using it on an Athlon 1.2 with W2K.


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N/A,2/13/2002 5:12:42 AM

This item does it all. Very user friendly and FAST! Was able to format the Smart Card with FAT16. Very small and fits easily into your shirt pocket. Newegg simply has the best service as the product got to me in two days. I highly recommend this product and Newegg as my vendor!


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Diego,1/25/2002 11:50:30 AM

After 45 days I've found a solution to my W98 problems. I've restored all files inside the Windows\System\iosubsys with the original files that comes with W98.
You can use the System File Checker (Programs\Accesories\System Tools\System Information\Tools\System File Checker) to restore these files.

Good luck!


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tg from AZ,1/24/2002 10:11:43 PM

Arrived in a few days... installed in a minute... works like a charm!! Yowsers, it's sure small... and I liked the way they put the drivers on a business-card sized CD, so it can be stored in the case (with the unit).


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N/A,1/12/2002 5:28:38 PM

Fast shipping. Software installed quickly and without problems in Win98. It creates three drives whenever the reader is plugged in. Very small and compact unit. I love it. The data transfer rate is amazing - almost as fast as the hard drive. The flash cards must be at least 4M to be read. For $25, it is a steal!


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N/A,1/10/2002 8:15:46 AM

I CAN'T GET THE WRITER TO INSTALL ON A WIN98SE COMPUTER. IT ACTUALLY LOCKS IT UP. I NSTALLED IT ON A WIN 2000 AND IT WORKED. THE WEBSITES UPDATED DRIVER HAVE AN ERROR WHICH WILL NOT LET YOU INSTALL IT. ANY HELP FROM OTHE BUYERS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.


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N/A,1/9/2002 7:50:20 PM

Nice Reader/Write.

I have two points about this product.

1: Don't use the CD Drivers that come with it.
Download them from there site.

2: Be very very careful when you put your flashcard in.
You can bend the pins very easy.

Other then that, it's a good product.


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N/A,12/28/2001 11:48:23 AM

Well as far as PC's go, this adapter works without a hitch. XP ID's it automatically without drivers - so that's great. Its really small and easy to carry with your laptop or in a shirt pocket. An excellent value.


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N/A,12/24/2001 4:18:09 PM

Works Great! I Have plugged it in three different machines; WinME, Win2K and XP, all w/out problems.


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Rob.,12/17/2001 8:35:04 AM

WARNING!! This product is NOT completely Mac compatible. I was able to read my Smart Media cards, but I couldn't read or write any file larger than 150kb to/from a Compact Flash card. Verified that product was fully functional on a PC with the included drivers installed. PQI website does not have Mac drivers available. Mac users - BUY WITH EXTREME CAUTION!!


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Fred,12/9/2001 12:43:59 PM

http://www.pqi.com.tw

This is the best / cheapest / smallest combo reader + writer I have seen. This product is definite worth my $25. BTW, this product is NOT by Mr.Flash, it's by PQI. And it DOES write to flash cards.
The shipping is fast, and everything went smoothly with Newegg except that the newegg customservice person doesn't know if this can write or not. So I had to take my chances. And as I said, it turned out that this "USB Reader" can indeed write.

 

[RossMAN]

I just called Zones.com at 1-800-408-9663 and they have 288 Dazzle 6-in-1 readers in stock at one warehouse with at least another 200 arriving on March 2, 2002. So they should be pretty well stocked and I reverified the price is $40.99

 

[RossMAN]

catrats - Can you update this thread's title to reflect a $3 price drop and free shipping from Dell Small Business?

Credit goes to this FW thread.

 

[JoshFink]

How many of these rebates can be turned in? Can I buy 6 and get 6 rebates? I don't see it on the form.

Thanks

 

[catrats]

RossMAN, thanks. I've updated the thread with your suggestions.

JoshFink, you're right, they don't specify a limit for the rebate. Personally, though, I'd play it safe and just assume that it's one per household. If you check out the fine print, it reads:

"SCM Microsystems reserves the right to change specifications without notice."

If you have ever dealt with rebates, you'll know that some of them will say anything to deny you a rebate. That fine print just gives them more ammunition to deny your multiple-rebate request. Just my opinion though.