While prowling the show floor of photo convention PMA 2008 in Las Vegas today, we spotted this Delkin (not to be confused with Belkin) ImageRouter, a four-slot CompactFlash card reader and powered one-port USB hub. For $250, it lets you slap four CF cards into the thing at the same time, downloading all the images to your PC at once using some special Windows-only software.

Why is it so honkin' big? Because it's a first-generation silly product with unknown potential. Apparently Delkin didn't want to throw too much money after it, but it's at least four times as big as it needs to be (bigger than a surge protector) and about five times too expensive. Who would want it? Probably photojournalists and pro shooters with lots of images to dump. It's silly yet useful, but we'll hold out for the generation-2 version. Maybe that one will be SDHC-compatible.

Via Delkin