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Joining the numerous packages currently available for carrying out a backup of your important data is the Clickfree Traveler.  Developed by Storage Appliance Corporation, the Clickfree Traveler Card is the first flash memory-based solution that uses the Clickfree technology.  This technology has been designed to allow a backup to be carried out by simply connecting the storage device to a computer without the need to set up or configure the software unless, of course, you want to.

The Clickfree Traveler is a brushed silver coloured device that is eminently portable, measuring 80 X 53 x 3mm and weighing just 30g.  Versions with capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB are available with all models supporting both Windows and Mac platforms.  This review is based on the 16GB model.

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The device links to the computer via a USB connection which can be flicked out from the left side. Unlike other USB devices I’ve seen, the Clickfree Traveler, due to its slim build, features a metallic strip lead and a memory card style, gold-plated plug.  This style of connection does feel rather flimsy although it seemed to work fine apart from one instant which I will return to a little later.

The basic concept behind the Clickfree Traveler is that you just need to plug it in for a backup to be activated.  My first attempt proved to be unsuccessful and resulted in an error message claiming that it could not find the destination drive.  As I had plugged the device into a desktop mounted USB docking station with vertical ports, this meant that the metallic strip lead has become twisted slightly.  Switching to a horizontal USB port resolved the problem and I was informed that there was an upgrade of the backup software ready for downloading.  At the completion of the download, I was advised to remove and then replace the Clickfree Traveler in order to proceed.

Following a short countdown, the software then begins a search of the host system.  Rather surprisingly, this search started with my D drive instead of the main C drive.  Included among Clickfree Traveler’s targeted files are categories such as photos, emails, music, text documents, presentations, art & drawings, videos and favourite websites.  The initial scan revealed that I had too much content for the available backup space (15074.2MB on the device). 

At this point you are taken to a screen listing the various categories, number of files and the space they require.  You can then deselect categories but not individual files such as a particular video or album track.  Once you have trimmed the list to an acceptable level, a backup button will turn green to indicate you can proceed with the backup. An on-screen bar provides feedback as to the progress along with details of the current files being backed up.  While the initial backup can be time consuming (10.2MB of data spread over 2,533 files took 54 minutes on the test system), subsequent backups can benefit from an incremental option whereby just new or changed files will be backed up.

Options are available to backup from multiple systems.  You can view backup file lists or thumbnails of images plus search for files by name, type or date.  When necessary files can be restored or transferred to another machine.  A reminder can be set to carry out a backup and you can reset the Clickfree device by removing all data.  From this list you will notice that one particular feature is missing.  I could find no option to password protect the data that was being stored on this portable Clickfree Traveler device.  Checking with the company’s PR agency revealed I had been sent a pre-production unit.  Password protection will be available in the final product.

This product would benefit from a small carry pouch especially as this help protect the USB connect from accident damage during transit. The Clickfree Traveler does come with a small user guide which is barely adequate for the task but should suffice.  Pricing has been set at £79.99 for the 16GB version.  The product requires either Mac OS X 10.5 or Windows 2000 and later.

http://www.clickfree.com/products_traveler.php