The Microdrive is a technological marvel. Within its matchbook-size case (half an ounce and 1.68 by 1.43 by 0.19 inches), the Microdrive uses the same technology--spinning platter and all--as the hard drive in your home computer. A shock-resistant design ensures maximum reliability in portable devices.

The drive requires a CompactFlash + Type II slot to work with an MP3 player, digital camera, or PDA. The Type II slot is slightly thicker than the standard CompactFlash slot, and if your device is only designed to accept standard CompactFlash cards, the Microdrive won't fit. When we installed it in our portable devices, it didn't require any setup; we just plugged it in and had 340 MB more of storage--enough for over five albums of CD quality music or hundreds of high-resolution photos. The drive only spins when in use and includes other advanced techniques to conserve power. However, when we used it with a battery-powered MP3 player, it drained the batteries more quickly than a standard flash memory card.

The drive comes with a PC Card adapter, which is a sort of sleeve into which you insert the drive for use with your laptop's PC Card Type II slot. When we inserted the card into our laptop, Windows automatically recognized it and loaded drivers from the installation CD. The drive then appeared in Windows Explorer as a standard hard drive. We could then copy files back and forth between our hard drive and the Microdrive faster than a typical portable device's serial or USB connection. In our testing, we achieved transfer rates of over 1 MB/second. The drive also came in handy for transporting large files or backing up data.

Iomega includes some useful software with the drive. MusicMatch JukeBox Plus is one of the best applications available for creating and managing MP3 files. Iomega's QuikSync 2 automatically backs up important files, and Adobe ActiveShare is an easy-to-use application for touching up and sharing your digital photos.

Both the drive itself and the sleeve are relatively delicate devices, so Iomega has included hard plastic cases with shock-absorbing gel inserts for transportation and storage. Iomega backs the product with a one-year warranty and offers toll-free technical support.

If your portable device has a CompactFlash + Type II slot, the Iomega's 340 MB Microdrive offers a lot of storage relatively inexpensively. It's an even more compelling solution for laptop Users, who can use their PC Card adapter for quick and easy data transfers. --Ken Feinstein

Pros:

• Extremely small and light
• Included adapter works with laptops
• Relatively inexpensive
• Shockproof

Cons:

• Uses more power than a standard flash memory card
• Less rugged than a standard (solid state) CompactFlash card
• Incompatible with CompactFlash Type I devices