Product Reviews

Portable storage solutions such as the SmartDisk FlashTrax are becoming an attractive alternative to handling the vast quantities of multimedia files generated from a number of potential sources. As well as providing a convenient back-up for memory cards used in digital cameras and some DV cameras, the inclusion of a colour LCD monitor allows stills and video files to be viewed away from the Mac. The FlashTrax also allows playback of audio files and, with its 30Gb hard disk, can store a selection of music and provide capacity for numerous downloads of stills and movies.

Staying power

Readying the FlashTrax for use is simple enough, and charging the internal high-capacity Lithium-Ion cell takes about three hours. A lightweight power adaptor/charger is provided, and UK and European power cables are supplied. Files are automatically labelled, based on the date, which you set using the keypad located under the massive 3.5in folding screen. The side controls are for MP3 playback, while a tiny speaker is on the top and a socket is provided for stereo headphones, which are not included.

A covered Type I and II Compact Flash socket, which also supports Microdrive, is located at the front edge of the device. Other formats can be used, but an adaptor has to be purchased to accommodate them. One feature we liked was the ability to see images on the flash media before downloading them, allowing selective copying - although, in practice, this was time-consuming.

We copied 65 files, a mixture of JPEGs and MPEGs totalling 490.7Mb from a 1Gb IBM Microdrive, using the shortcut key next to the CF slot. The

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shortcut is a thoughtful inclusion, and bypasses the otherwise convoluted route through the keypad-driven menu. Transfer rates through the CF slot averaged 1.1Mb/s, slower than the eFilm PicturePAD's 1.4Mb/s. Navigating the folders on-screen is quite straightforward, especially after following the clearly written hard copy user guide. However, viewing text and pictures is somewhat disappointing, as the large screen fails to deliver a detailed image from its 112,320 pixels, and even adjusting the LCD's contrast, colour or brightness controls makes little appreciable difference.

Better view

The screen does have benefits, and up to 12 10 x 15mm thumbnails can be viewed simultaneously. Conveniently, portraits normally displayed horizontally can easily be shown upright, allowing composition to be checked carefully, and at 41 x 52mm the image is still a large size. Images can be enlarged, and there is a facility to scroll to a point of interest to confirm focus. However, the low-resolution LCD makes this difficult. Build quality is better than that of its competitors, but the folding screen makes it heavier and bulkier than its rivals. Its dimensions are a pocket-busting 143 x 92 x 32mm and it weighs 340g, so pack it in a gadget bag.

The lack of support for FireWire and the adoption of the competing USB 2.0 interface, with the backwards compatibility of USB 1.1, makes copying over large folders of files a lengthy process. However, no drivers are required, and the FlashTrax is automatically detected when connected to a Mac running Mac OS 8.6 and later. Our speed tests confirmed a rate of 0.67MB/s, reading from the disk, and transferring the 490.7MB to our iMac took just over 12 minutes.

The most significant feature of this hand-held multimedia storage device is the the large colour monitor for instant playback. Although the screen doesn't live up to our expectations, it's still a great asset, and the inclusion of the MP3 player makes this even more compelling. At £350, the SmartDisk FlashTrax is some £30 cheaper than the practically identical Innoplus Phototainer (see Reviews 16 May 2003, p27), and the additional 10GB capacity makes the FlashTrax FTX 30 the device to go for.