The choice of name is rather perplexing, since SmartDisk had another product that was also called the FlashTrax three years ago - that product being an adapter of sorts that would read MP3 files off a MultiMediaCard, and allow them to be played in a standard audio cassette player. That potential confusion aside, though, the FlashTrax looks to be a pretty interesting device. The actual source is a Korean manufacturer, Innoplus Co. Ltd., and the product itself is a rebadged Phototainer 300P. Note that the specifications in this item, with the exception of hard disk capacity, are those provided by Innoplus - and it is possible that SmartDisk could have had alterations made to the design for their own requirements.

As well as being able to free up your flash cards, the FlashTrax has a range of other capabilities. A built-in 112,320 pixel 3.5" LCD display for viewing your images provides similar resolution to most high-end digital camera LCD displays, but on a noticeably larger screen (most camera displays are only around 2"). There's also a video out connection compatible with both NTSC and PAL. When viewing images, you can zoom in and pan around the image, and you can also set the FlashTrax in slideshow mode to see all your images. The device also functions as an MP3 player, with random, sequential and directory play modes, and as an external USB 2.0-compliant external hard disk drive for your Windows or MacOS computer. Sound is catered for with a stereo headphone connection, and a built-in speaker.

The FlashTrax natively supports images in JPEG format as well as MotionJPEG videos, and can read CompactFlash Type-I and Type-II cards including Microdrives. Adapters are available to support SmartMedia, Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard and Secure Digital cards. Power comes from a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery or an AC adapter. The device is based on Innoplus' JPD 101 JPEG / MPEG chip, which can decode JPEG images at 8 megapixels / second, rotate images at 6 megapixels / second, and MotionJPEG video in real-time at 640 x 480 pixels, 30 frames per second.

The SmartDisk FlashTrax handheld portable device will cost $499.99 when it goes on sale in April. Full specifications follow:

SmartDisk FlashTrax
Hardware
CPU	ARM720 RISC core
Memory	16MB SDRAM, 4MB Flash
HDD	30GB 2.5" Notebook HDD (9.5mm thick)
LCD	3.5" color TFT LCD with backlight (112,320 dots)
Video Output	NTSC, PAL composite (75 ohm, 1Vp-p)
Audio Output	Stereo Earphone Output (75 mW per channel) Internal Speaker (500mW)
PC interface	USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 compatible)
Memory Card Socket	CompactFlash Type-II socket CompactFlash Types I, II, IBM Microdrive support SmartMedia, Memory Stick, SD card, MMC card support using optional adapter One touch backup
Software
OS	Linux
Photo Viewer	Photo file list / Multi-photo view Slide show Fast Zoom, Pan, Scroll
Music Player	Music file list view Music play screen Random, Sequential and Directory Play
USB Interface	Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP support Mac OS 8.2.x support
Power
Battery	Rechargeable Li-Ion
Charging Time	About 4 hours using AC adapter
External Power	AC adapter Input: AC 100V - 250V Output: 5V, 3A
JPEG / MPEG Chip
JPEG Decoding	Max. 3072 x 2048, YUV 4:4:4, 4:2:2, 4:2:0, Y-only 0.75 sec / 6 megapixel
Motion JPEG	720 (704) x 480, 640 x 480, 352 x 240, 320 x 240 640 x 480 x 30 / sec
Scaling, Rotation	1:4 (exten) ~ 8:1 (reduc), 2048 level, rotation 1.0 sec / 6 megapixel
Video Output	NTSC CCIR656, PAL CCIR656 720 x 480 x 30 / sec
Host to SDRAM	32b / 16b / 8b read / write, little / big endian
Graphic Accel.	Horizontal line, vertical line, fill rectangle
Audio In / Out	16 / 18 / 20 / 24b / sample, 32K / 44.1K / 48K sample / sec. I2S, left-justified, right-justified format 256 x 24b Fifo
External Memory	Single 128MB SDRAM
Power Control	Module-based clock on / off, SDRAM self-refresh
Dimensions and Weight
Dimensions	143mm x 92mm x 32mm (H x W x D)
Weight	340g
More Photos
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