SanDisk Cruzer Titanium Plus (4GB)

The 4GB SanDisk Cruzer Titanium ($50) is a new kind of flash drive that offers an automated online backup each time it's attached to a computer with an Internet connection. This model looks almost exactly the same as the original SanDisk Cruzer Titanium, but this one lets you perform automatic online backups using the BeInSync software. Unfortunately, the drive is expensive and requires a yearly fee to continue the backup service. The competition offers the same capacity in a single fee for half the cost.

The Cruzer Titanium features the same design as the original, with a small notch that pushes the USB in and out of the crush-resistant titanium coated metal casing, only this time the entire key is bronze, not silver. The package also includes a small silver key ring and lanyard for safe travel. It's not the tiniest USB drive we've seen, measuring 2.3 inches long by 0.8 inch wide by 0.3 inch deep, but it's definitely small enough to easily sit in the narrow USB port behind your PC. The Cruzer is compatible with all up-to-date Windows operating systems and will work with Mac OS as a storage device. The backup software only runs on Windows.

The Cruzer ships with SanDisk's BeInSync software and is unique to this model. The price tag includes a free six-month subscription to BeInSync with the opportunity to extend another year for $29.95. After a quick registration that requires you to choose a username and password, the software is verified and ready to store data. From here, each time you connect the Cruzer to a computer with Internet access, the BeInSync software will scan the drive and update your online account to reflect any changes since the last backup. All files transferred to the Cruzer are protected using 256-bit SSL encryption with mandatory user authentication, and the data is available at any time at the BeInSync Web site, even if the drive isn't plugged into the computer. We tested the service with a number of different file types and all of our data popped up on the server, ready to be downloaded in the ZIP format. Unlike other hard drives, unplugging the drive in midbackup won't wipe out all the data; the backup will simply continue the next time the key is inserted into a computer.

SanDisk also includes two innovative features with the Cruzer. The first is that deleted files on the drive will remain available for download from the Web site until the entire drive is filled to capacity, in which case the deleted files are removed on a first in, first out basis. The second is a precautionary measure: if you lose the drive and report it to SanDisk, the company will disable further backups and effectively freeze all data associated with the username. If you happen to find the device afterward, SanDisk will reactive the service for no cost to the user.