SmartDisk FlashTrax A Great Way To Store And Backup Images On The Road One way to get the maximum usage from your digicams memory cards is to use temporary storage devices that lets you transfer images from a CompactFlash card, wipe the card clean, and get back to shooting more photographs. Portable, temporary image storage devices are pretty much all the same. They have tiny, but large capacity hard drives that run on battery power. Theres a slot for memory cards and usually a single button that transfers all of the files from the card onto the hard drive. The more useful, and more expensive, models have a LCD screen that lets you preview and maybe edit images later. Then, the device can be connected to your computer like an external hard drive to transfer images to your computers hard disk or burn CDs, whatever floats your boat. What sets these devices apart is how they handle these diverse functions, and SmartDisk FlashTrax is a clear winner in most, if not all, categories. Lets start with the form factor: FlashTrax has the best in its class. Looking like a chubby PDA (Personal Data Assistant) with a folding screen, its been designed to be easy to use. FlashTrax can store images from any memory card onto its 30GB hard drive. FlashTraxs multi-function socket reads CompactFlash cards directly but for other types of cards, an adapter (see sidebar) must be used. The CompactFlash Adapter plugs into the FlashTrax slot, and has a slot that lets you plug in a SD/MMC, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, or xD card. Im told that SmartDisk is planning on selling branded adapters that will be certified compatible with FlashTrax. Download time for a full 256MB memory card takes approximately three to five minutes, depending on the manufacturer, and you should be able to transfer 4 to 6GB of data before depleting a full battery charge. When using an IBM Microdrive, that transfer amount is cut in half (2 to 3GB) due to the higher power requirements.