You won't have much time to twiddle your thumbs when copying files to the Fire Flash thumb drive.

Here's the main reason you might want to spend the extra money on a FireWire 400 flash drive such as the Fire Flash: It took 90 seconds to copy a 700MB video file to the Fire Flash, compared to the 8 minutes, 40 seconds it took to copy the same file to a USB 2.0 thumb drive. That's a huge speed advantage for FireWire.

The Fire Flash comes with a 6-to-4-pin adapter in case you need to connect to a computer with the smaller FireWire plug (not necessary for Mac connectivity, of course), and a docking station with a 40-inch cable, so you don't have to crawl underneath your desk any time you want to plug the Fire Flash in.

The bottom line. You can find a 1GB USB flash drive for $20, while a Fire Flash will set you back $100. But if you believe that time is money, the price for the Fire Flash is money well spent.

COMPANY: Kanguru
CONTACT: www.kanguru.com
PRICE: $99.95 (1GB) to $229.95 (8GB)
REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS 9.2 or later, FireWire 400
Fast performance. Comes with docking station and 6-to-4-pin adapter.
More expensive than USB flash drives.