Iomega Clik Offers Small Size, Large Storage

SUMMARY

Iomega Clik Drives PRO: Lightweight 40MB storage alternative for digital cameras and handheld PCs, with low-cost disks. CON: Finicky parallel port connection, AC adapter needed. VALUE: Worth the inconvenience only if cheap media is a must. $199 to $299 Iomega 800/697-8833 www.iomega.com

Iomega revolutionized removable mass storage technology with its 100MB and 250MB Zip disks. Now the company aims to repeat history with its matchbook-size, biscuit-thin 40MB Clik disks.

Announced nearly two years ago, Clik is just now arriving in stores. The $10 disks look and act like miniature hard drives and are designed primarily for use with digital cameras and driveless handheld PCs. Clik will replace the more expensive and inconvenient CompactFlash cards currently used by most digital cameras. The first cameras with Clik built in should appear this summer. But based on my use of a shipping version of a low-end Iomega Clik Drive, I'd wait at least until then before buying one of these devices.

The Clik Drive for Mobile Computers I tested is a little bigger than an audiocassette. It fits into a desktop caddy that connects to your PC's parallel port via a bulky device with a pass-through port for your printer and an input for the AC power adapter. To transfer my digital camera images to the Clik, I had to take the drive out of the desktop caddy, plug in the included flash memory reader, and stick in the flash card or smart disk media. The files were automatically copied from the flash card to the Clik drive. Then I removed the reader, put the Clik drive back in the caddy, and transferred the contents to my PC's hard disk. I could accomplish the same job with one less step using a flash memory reader such as ActionTec's $79 parallel port Camera Connect Pro.

Other hassles: Clik cannot coexist with any other parallel port device, like Iomega's Zip drives, or even some printers, such as my Canon BJC-80. When connecting to Windows CE handhelds via a PC Card slot, Clik's PC Card interface requires AC power to run, so it is unsuitable for use on the road.

Finally, the drives are somewhat pricey: The low-end Clik Drive for Mobile Computers sells for $199; a digital camera bundle with flash card reader goes for $249; and the premium Clik Drive Plus, combining the mobile and digital camera bundles, costs $299. Given the devices' expense and setup hassles, I'd have to say the Clik doesn't click.