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Got the World on a Keychain
Power Trip · September 27, 2002

I've seen the future of travel technology and it's on a key chain.

Just in time, too. With airline gate agents now holding a measuring tape to each suitcase, and government security screeners giving every carry-on a once over, smaller is better for the jet set.

And cheaper. In an effort to collect more money from us, the major carriers are clamping down on our excess baggage, imposing hefty surcharges for heavy bags or extra luggage that we used to travel with. American Airlines passengers now pay $80 for baggage that's too big. Delta Air Lines also recently began charging $40 for passengers checking a third bag.

Only a few years ago, any serious technology user would have dismissed a gadget small enough to double as a key chain as a gimmick from a gumball machine. But not today. Randall Dunham, a management professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, was surprised to find that the new units actually work as reliably as the magnetic storage devices of yesterday. He uses a key-chain-sized memory device to keep class presentations and other research data.

"I'm using a 512-megabyte drive to keep an entire mobile backup of a simulation that I am developing," he says. "I used to either haul an external hard drive with me or burn a CD. This is so much more convenient."

Tiny space, growing market

Key-chain technology is pervasive. IDC, the Framingham, Mass., tech research firm, predicts that the market for so-called "flash" memory cards — the guts of some of these key chains — will mushroom to $5.3 billion in 2004 from just $717 million in 1999.

Another component of these tiny devices, digital photography, also is growing quickly. IDC says digital devices captured a total of 9.1 billion images in 2000. By 2005, it projects that 29.5 billion images will be taken, a compound annual growth rate of more than 26%.

What kind of technology has been shrunk to the point where you can attach a pair of keys to it?

Memory. New storage devices that require no external power supply and connect to your laptop or workstation as easy as any peripheral device mean you don't have to carry an extra CD or floppy disk drive on your next trip. One of the best-known manufacturers of key-chain memory is DiskOnKey, which offers an entry-level key chain that plugs into your laptop for $29.99. (It holds 8 MB; meanwhile, a newly introduced 512-MB model will set you back $499.99.)

Photography. Cameras — both still and video — used to require their own bag. For anyone who needed to take pictures while they were traveling, this sometimes meant choosing between a change of clothes and equipment. But new gadgets like the Cool-iCam, a combination digital camera, video camera and Web cam, mean you don't have to recycle your favorite shirt while you're on the road. (Price: $49.99.)

Telecommunications. Remember when cellular phones weighed about as much as a brick and worked only slightly better? Needless to say they didn't make the best traveling companions. Wireless devices are contracting to the point that they're being billed as "wearable." When cell phones broke the four-ounce barrier with models such as Motorola's StarTAC and Ericsson's T28 World phone, Dick Tracy didn't look so funny talking into his wristwatch.

But just because you can shrink technology to the size of a stick of gum, does that mean you ought to?

Why I'm not on the bandwagon

Call me a neophyte, but I'm cautious when it comes to these new gadgets. Not because they don't work — by most accounts they do. For example, J. Brian Fraser, an Air Force defense contractor in Eglin, Fla., swears by his memory sticks. "It's a great way to take information from someone else at a meeting or carry around your 20-megabyte PowerPoint briefing," he tells me. "I highly recommend it."

No, there are other issues that make me reluctant to part with my floppy disk, even if it does mean a confrontation with an airline ticket agent. Here they are:

The loss factor. Insurance company Safeware reports that 26% of all laptop computers, or 591,000 portable PCs, were reported as stolen in 2001, a rise of 53% from a year earlier. It's unclear how many of these units were simply misplaced in the trunk of a cab or left in an airport lounge. Forgetting a notebook computer remains relatively difficult — they're still pretty big. Now ask yourself: Have you ever lost your keys? Imagine how much easier it's going to be to misplace that important presentation when it's shrunk to the size of a pen.

Compatibility concerns. If you're confused by the difference between USB 1.1, USB 2.0 and FireWire (IEEE 1394), and you struggle to understand what it means to your peripheral device, then take a number. I'm at the front of that line. Even though most of these key-chain devices are USB-compatible, and billed as plug-and-play, I can't promise they'll work with your next computing device. Obsolescence affects everything, even the old magnetic floppies we used to save our data on. But in a market where there's no one dominant manufacturer setting a standard, this all becomes a little worrisome to me.

The miniaturization premium. You want small? It's gonna cost you. For example, the Maxtor 1394 External Storage hard disk that I use with my office workstation costs $279.95 for 80 GB. By comparison, JMTek's USBDrive Driverless key chain will set you back $699.95 — for just 1 GB. An unfair comparison? Maybe. But it's still a consideration when you're contemplating carrying a key chain on your next trip.

Frequent travelers are well aware of these limitations. But as the airport security screening process becomes more drawn out and luggage restrictions become more onerous, they're willing to overlook this emerging technology's shortcomings. Some, like Ron Greenberg, a San Francisco information technology consultant, have even found a way around at least one of the drawbacks I mentioned: the high price. He says he sometimes finds the memory devices online at a fraction of the cost.

"I was on eBay and picked up several 128-megabyte and 256-megabyte [units] for $35 and $71, respectively, plus shipping," Greenberg says. "I've got tons of memory that can be used in any of my devices. I love it."

The future may indeed be on a key chain, but it could take a while for all of us to get there.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion.