Image Tank reborn?

9th October - 2002
By Ian Burley

X’s-drive review - click here

Natural successor to Image Tank addresses predecessor’s shortcomings

It’s called the X’S Drive and it’s a portable memory card reader and hard disk repository, much in the same style as the popular Image Tank (also known as Image Bank in some markets).

We reviewed an Image Tank a while back (click here) and thought it was a practical and functional solution, though there was room for improvement. It looks like the Taiwanese manufacturers of the X’S Drive has taken some of the feedback to heart as the new drive looks like a very superior product and it’s even a bit less expensive to boot.

Almost identical in size to an Image Tank, the new X’S Drive is compatible with more kinds of memory card (including Sony Memory Stick, Compact Flash (Types I/II), SmartMedia and Secure Digital (SD), has a built in rechargeable battery instead of an optional external one and we can report that the example we’re testing at present has a much more impressive case design that looks nicer and more hard wearing. One sacrifice is that of a LCD status screen for status LEDs, but it doesn’t have much of an impact on ease of use.

Prices in the UK start at £129.90 inc.VAT without a hard drive fitted, a popular option for those who can source a drive of their own. With a 20GB hard drive fitted, the price is £239 inc.VAT

We’ll be publishing a full review shortly. In the mean time, further information is available at the X’S Drive web site - click here.

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