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SpeedLoader impressions
 One of the biggest complaints about the MiniJam MP3 Springboard module is the slow transfer speed when converting MP3s and copying them to the MMC card(s) on the MiniJam. InnoGear hopes to improve the transfer speed with the SpeedLoader, a MMC Reader that plugs into any USB port.
Before I begin, I want to point out that the transfer speed of the MiniJam is 2.08 MB/min, compared to 13.9 MB/min for the SoundsGood MP3 Player.
For testing purposes, I used the same 4039 KB song that I used in reviewing the modules. It took 55 seconds to copy the song, for a transfer speed of about 4.3 MB/min. This is more than twice as fast as the MiniJam, but still nowhere near as fast as the SoudsGood.
To look at it another way, it would take just over thirty minutes to fill a 64MB MMC using the MiniJam by itself. Using the SpeedLoader halves that to just under fifteen minutes. Your transfer speed may vary -- InnoGear expects it to be closer to 6.5 MB/min.
So is the SpeedLoader worth the money? That depends on how often you transfer songs and where your nearest USB port is. I had to move my USB hub to where I could get to it with the SpeedLoader without ducking under my desk every time I wanted to transfer some songs. InnoGear emailed me to let me know that there will be a 3' cable included with the SpeedLoader, so that should help desktop users.
The SpeedLoader isn't available yet, and final pricing is unknown at this time.
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