IMO, that "carrying case" is bullet, fire, explosion and, basically, everything-proof. Heck, I have a hard time trying to OPEN it... ¬¬
The USB reader is pretty good. It's incredibly useful when you need to get something in your TF and you're not at home. Way better than a micro to SD adapter (few PCs at ciber center do have SD readers incorporated). But still, whenever I need to get something OUT (copy it to a safe location for a format, ie), I use the adapter. I got some files corrupted last time I tried with the USB reader.
Is the "new, more reliable microSD reader" refers to the USB one or the onboard one? If the only differences are those, and the price increases, I'll be happier with my "first stock" purchase ^^