Thumbs up

ei Corp.’s portable storage device, ThumbDrive, is aptly named — its slick black case is shorter and narrower than my thumb. Yet the model I tested holds 64 MB of data, other models currently available hold up to 128 MB, and higher capacities are in the works. ThumbDrive is almost as light as a CompactFlash card of similar capacity, but CompactFlash devices need an adapter in order to plug into a PC. ThumbDrive is far more portable than an Iomega Zip disk, another popular removable storage option.

ThumbDrive could hardly be easier to use; you simply plug it into a USB port. The first time you attach it, you must install a pair of drivers, which come on an accompanying diskette, and format the device. Formatting took me nine minutes on a
500-MHz IBM ThinkPad 600X. After that, it’s easy on, easy off.

Speed is one of ThumbDrive’s strong points. With no moving parts, data transfers more rapidly than in a typical download from the Internet. An LED on the face of the unit shines green when the drive is powered up, and flashes when files are accessed and modified. To protect your data, you can write-lock the ThumbDrive by flipping a tiny recessed switch on the end of the drive. That switch is the unit’s only substandard element — a tiny tool, like the end of a paper clip, is required to move it, and it’s hard to do unless you take the drive off the PC.

When installed, the drive shows up as a removable drive in My Computer under Windows 98, the only platform ThumbDrive currently supports.

ThumbDrive ranges in price from $70 for a 16-MB unit to $400 for a 128-MB unit. The 64-MB unit I tested costs $200, compared to about $120 for an equal-capacity CompactFlash. That’s awfully pricey for such a small device, but if it’s within your budget, ThumbDrive is a great alternative for transporting files too large to be moved as email attachments.