The SmartDisk FlashTrax is another everything media device — it plays MP3, MPEG, JPEG and even text files. With 30 gigs of on-board storage, it’ll hold just about everything you want (7000 hi-fi MP3s, for instance), and play it all back on the 3.5″ color TFT flip-up screen. It also has a Compact Flash slot for uploading or downloading media to other devices, such as digital cameras. With the integrated composite-out port, it can be hooked up to a TV for displaying images or movies. For high-speed file transfer to and from the computer, the FlahsTrax uses USB 2.0, and like all the best of these HD MP3 players, it shows up as a standard external harddrive for easy use. At 5.6″ x 3.6″ x 1.3″, and 12 oz. it’s a fairly large device, but given its capabilities, it could be just the thing for those with an itch for mobile media. Price is $500, which is competitive with the similarly outfitted Archos Multimedia Jukebox AV320.
Hardware Beyond the Hype