Unfortunately, the TOPY Mini Writer is too little, too late. The DataPlay disks hold only 500MB, less than a CD-ROM. The disks themselves are hard to find, costing about $6 each from the few small mail-order shops we found that carry them.. That's a lot more than it costs to buy a blank CD or DVD, both of which store more. Now, admittedly, the DataPlay disk is far smaller. But the technology has been eclipsed by high capacity SD and Compact Flash cards, and I can't really think of a compelling reason why you'd want to buy this product.

Available for about $120 with three of the DataPlay disks, the TOPY earns a dopey 3 out of 5. It's a shame, too. Back in 2001, we would have killed to get ahold of this thing.

OUR RATING: 3 of 5

FIGURE G


This Seagate rocks! Roll over picture for a larger image.

Seagate's Pocket Drive is 5GB and, unlike its big brother, is powered completely and reliably off the USB 2.0 cable that's built into the drive. What makes this 2 ounce drive so sweet is how small and portable it really is. First, the cable wraps up inside itself, so when you use the drive, you turn the black shell of the drive and out pops the cable. There's no chance of the cable getting tangled or lost.

Second, the round form factor fits comfortably in a pocket and is nicely protected. From purely a geek chic perspective, when the drive is running, the center of the circle lights up with a very cool neon blue.

While thumb drives (with no moving parts) are catching up in terms of capacity, the Seagate Pocket Drive probably has a year or so of life in its 5GB capacity. Hopefully, we'll see the capacity increase over time. Even so, for about a hundred bucks, the Seagate Pocket Drive earns a perfect 5 out of 5.

OUR RATING: 5 of 5

FIGURE H


Thumb drives are light, cheap, and have more and more capacity. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Now, you could probably substitute any other thumb drive for the one in this article. They're all amazingly convenient. This one weighs just a tad over a quarter of an ounce and has a 2GB capacity.

We've been finding that manufacturers are seeking to differentiate their thumb drives by design and even by fashion statement. Frankly, we don't care that much about the fluffy factors. The key is to get a nice, solid drive, and get it inexpensively. One of the techniques is to keep an eye on sales and bargain sites, and only buy when the drives are cheap. The drive I got, for example, listed for $179, but was on sale for far less.

We give the very nice, very inexpensive (if you can find a sale) 2GB Memorex TravelDrive a 4 out of 5.

OUR RATING: 4 of 5