The electronics industry has come up with plenty of solutions. More than a year ago, Belkin introduced a Media Reader that sucked photos from a memory card onto spare disk space on an iPod. The updated adapter now connects the camera directly to the iPod. The new iPod Photos have similar photo-storage functionality built right in.

Sony's approach was different: the $200 PhotoVault is a CD burner that runs on AA batteries and connects to the TV for image viewing. If you are serious about backing up photos to CD-R, this product provides the means. However, it only writes to 8-cm discs, which in bulk cost around 70 cents a piece but only hold 200MB of data. In other words, there's not even enough storage to do a one-to-one copy of a 256MB flash-memory card.

Then there's Epson's P-2000, which is the photo-storage equivalent of fishing with hand grenades: it gets the job done, but with a 40GB hard drive, full video playback capability and a sticker price of $500, it might be considered overkill. Mind you, it's beautiful, something that would no doubt aid professionals who don't need another heavy item to lug around, and whose digital image files are 8MB each.

The P-2000 pulls files from Compact Flash or SD cards or, with third-party adapters, other formats like Memory Stick. It can also connect directly to a PC via a fast USB 2.0 connection. Its 640x480 resolution screen is extra impressive since it measures only 3.8 inches. (For comparison, keep in mind that the crisp 2.8-in. screen on PalmOne's new Treo 650 is just 320x320.) It can even print directly to certain newer Epson printers.

Some things it can't do. While it reads JPEGs and RAW formats from certain camera makers, as well as MPEG4 and Motion JPEG, the video formats typically found in still cameras, it doesn't play the industry standard MPEG-2 video you might have on your computer. Also, though it supports MP3s and AACs, it cannot play Windows Media files or any protected content downloaded from the internet. With its battery, it weighs a pound, which is light compared to laptops, perhaps, but a heifer in the same corral as PDAs or MP3 players.

Still, these may be high-end solutions for a problem that no longer exists. Many of these products were devised at a time when memory cards themselves cost a prohibitive amount. Today, when Lexar 1GB SD cards are selling on Amazon for just $87, your best bet may be to simply bulk up on memory.