- Introduction -

A few months ago, the AceKard 2 was released, and it over the last few months it gained a massive amount of popularity. It was the cart to buy in any situation. Initial reviews, such as the one at DSDatabase approved of the cart's speedy menu and the odd features incorporated.

Away with the old and in with the new.

Unfortunately the problem with the AceKard 2 was the build. With a chip sticking out and clips holding the cart together, it just didn 't last long. Most would die after a month or two of use. Even worse was the batches and batches of AceKard 2 carts riddled with defects, from freezes, FAT errors to simply not booting up.

A green circuit board is an indication of the old AceKard 2.

Although the core of the cart is the same, between our last review and this review, there have been several key updates that have made the AceKard 2.1 an even better choice. There is also the hardware update which claims to have completely gotten rid of the defects as well as improved the overall quality. Needless to say, if these fixes are implemented, there is no telling how far the AceKard 2.1 will go.

Not a huge difference, but the little things do matter.

- Design -

The box that the AceKard 2.1 came in was fairly standard. Although it does seem to be a bit stiffer and harder than the usual flash cart box, which is nice because during shipping, nothing was crushed, unlike some other samples I have gotten. The design is still spectacular, and the clear tray is also fairly strong.

Nice, plain, simple box, nothing to really brag about, but no complaints either.

Let 's get started by looking at the included MicroSD reader. I am aware that there are bundles that exist without the MicroSD reader, but I highly recommend paying the extra few dollars for one, as it saves you a lot of hassle. The AceKard 2.1 reader that was shipped to me was one of my favourite MicroSD readers of all time. It is compact, sturdy, but not tiny enough to become a chore. I 've had a large range of MicroSD readers, and I have to say that the AceKard 2 and AceKard 2.1 reader is the best. It is really sturdy, speed is pretty decent and it is really compact.

The MicroSD reader is SDHC compliant.

The major update of the AceKard 2.1 was supposedly the build quality. I was a little unhappy when I opened up my sample and saw that the clips were still on the AceKard 2.1 carts. Actually I was horrified. I wondered if it wasn 't the clips, what did they fix? Sadly enough, I was not at all impressed with the updated version.