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The Orange County Register, Calif., Gadgetress column
(Orange County Register, The (CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 27--WOLVERINE'S MVP PHOTO STORAGE
--Purpose: When your camera runs out of room, don't start deleting photos. Wolverine's MVP is a camera's back-up buddy.
--The lowdown: I'm one of those people who has had to hit "delete" on my camera to make room for more photos. It doesn't happen often, but I'm also not the type who takes hundreds of photos at a time.
If I were, I'd want one of these portable storage devices to back up photos when no computer is around. These gadgets have built-in card readers. Insert a card and it copies all photos to its hard drive. My favorite is the Epson P2000, with its beautiful 3.8-inch screen. But the 40GB Epson is still $500 even after more than a year. (The newer 80 GB one is $700!)
Wolverine Data, the Irvine subsidiary of Taiwan's TIC Computer, offers something similar but cheaper. The MVP-9060 has 60GBs of storage for $400 (and $350 online). And today, the company plans to announce a 120GB version for $599.
Since it wasn't available yet, I tested the 60GB one, which has the same features.
The 10-ounce MVP is not pocketsize. It's about one-third larger than my iPod and twice as thick. The 2.5-inch color screen is twice the size of my camera's screen. The MVP also includes several accessories: a remote control, audio/video cables, headphones, USB cable and a rubberized case with a built-in speaker. It's a music and video player (just drag and drop files from a computer) and voice recorder.
Graphics have a 1990s look and the product feels like cheap plastic. Maneuvering on screen takes practice, but three knobs keep it simple: Escape, Menu and a toggle button.
The MVP reads seven types of memory cards: CompactFlash I and II, Smart Media, Micro Drive, Secure Digital, Multimedia Card, XD and Memory Stick and MS Pro.
I filled a 2GB card with photos and slid it into the reader. A window popped up asking if I wanted to back up the card or just the photos. I pick "full backup" and nine minutes, 10 seconds later, it was done.
The nice thing is I can see photos I just took on the 2.5-inch screen individually or as thumbnails, fitting eight to a screen.
The screen is adequate but far from the crisp screen of the Epson P200, where you can see where the photo is out of focus.
Battery life is mediocre. It lasted just over two hours. In that time, I backed up the same 2GB card four times, played music for 90 minutes and watched a 20-minute video. There was some overlap. I played music in the background and transferred photos, which then took 30 minutes.
The difficulty with testing battery life was waiting for the battery to recharge. It took more than 2 1/2 hours. Sheesh!
--Verdict: The Wolverine MVP does what it says and it's easy to figure out. I didn't even read the instructions.
While not as nice as the Epson P2000, the MVP is almost half the price. It's a solid product worth considering.
But I feel this has a limited audience: photographers. People who want to listen to music or watch videos should stick with an iPod (and don't forget, there's a $30 attachment to transfer photos directly from certain digital cameras to their iPod). If space is important, however, then the new 120GB version, available today, is for you.
--Price: $399
--Best: Fast photo transfers, decent price, lots of accessories included.
--Worst: Mediocre battery life and LCD screen.
--Available: J&R Music and Computer World at jr.com, $350; Adorama Camera via Amazon, $370; Costco, $350.
--More info: wolverinedata.com
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