Tag: packaging

Clever, but annoying

I bought an Eye-Fi memory card after hearing about ladyada’s Internet of Things Camera. Neat idea; SD card which transmits across wi-fi to your computer. It would be nice if it didn’t go via Eye-fi’s servers, but it’s a start.

What is annoying is the huge packaging which contains a fake cardboard SD card just to take up space. The fake card even has a little plastic cover. Dear me.

#nookfail

Got a couple of spare NOOKcolor Charging Cables, since (grar! gnash!) it uses its own special twist on the USB Micro-B connector that just doesn’t work with anything else. They came in a middling size box, and then each cable was packaged thus:
That’s a 120×75mm box with 70×70mm blocked out, leaving only 50mm for the cable. Stay wasteful, Barnes & Noble …

Dear Mr SanDisk

I just bought one of your SanDisk 256MB CF cards today. Now I’m a big guy, and of at least average strength, but how on earth are we supposed to open your packaging? Ultrasonically welded plastic is almost impossible to open. After several minutes of fighting with it, I ended up having to snip very carefully along the bottom edge, and shake the contents out.

Your packaging is also an environmental horror. The 43×36mm CF card comes in a snug little polypropylene (maybe, or perhaps HDPE) case — inside a double-layer 127×200mm PVC envelope. That’s an unnecessary amount of the worst plastic for the environment.

I do like your products, but if in future I can find an alternative with less irksome packaging, I shall use them instead.