The Trek Thumbdrive Portable Storage Device is one of the smallest around yet allows up to 16Mb of data to be stored and transferred in addition to your usual hard drive.

There’s probably a million reasons to have the Billionton Bluetooth USB Adaptor, which enables secure file transfer and communication between devices without a mass of cords. Photos by Cpl Mark Eaton.

Portable storage at your thumbtip

Reviews by Cpl Mark Eaton

Trek Thumbdrive Portable Storage Device

Throw away your floppies. The next generation portable storage device has arrived.
One of the smallest portable storage devices in the world, the Trek Thumbdrive is ideal for mobile users, being able to store and transfer any form of data including mpegs, documents and images.
Simply plug the device into the computer’s USB port and it will appear on the system as an additional drive. Driver installation is required for Windows 98, which is supplied on CD, or downloaded from the web site.
Thumbdrive supports Windows and Mac so moving data from PC to Mac and vice versa is easy. It even comes with a write-protection lock to prevent data being erased. Other models include Thumdrive Touch, Secure and Smart.
Thumbdrive can withstand shocks and vibrations to a reasonable level and is powered using the computer’s USB port because of its low power consumption.
For more information see www.thumbdrive.com.au
Cost: $75 for 16MB version.

Bluetooth USB Adaptor

If computer cables are giving you problems, then go cordless. Weighing next to nothing and small enough to fit in the palm of your hand is the Bluetooth USB Adaptor from Billionton.
Bluetooth technology allows cordless, secure communication via radio waves between devices such as mobile phones, PCs, portable handheld devices, camcorders and printers, just to name a few.
Imagine being able to set up a small local network to host a meeting where files, appointments and business cards can be exchanged.
The Billionton Bluetooth Adpator is unobtrusive and simple to operate. Once the software is installed, just plug in the unit and file transfer is almost immediate (over a 10m distance). Each unit displays its own name and security to distinguish it from other Bluetooth devices.
One advantage Bluetooth has over infrared technology is that you don’t have to aim the two gadgets at each other. Once the two units are in range, they find and connect to each other.
Compatible with Windows 98 and later and Mac OS X Version 2, the Billionton Bluetooth Adaptor is available from Laptop Computing at www.laptopc@hotkey.net.au or phone (02) 9281 2624. For more information see www.billionton.com
Cost: $169.