It's small and, at first sight, rather unimpressive. But the new Multipod 5 in 1 ($149.99) from Octave Systems Inc. packs quite a wallop.

Only about three inches long and less than an inch wide, the Multipod is actually five devices in one: a video recorder, a digital camera, a Web cam, a voice recorder and a 128 megabyte storage device.

The resolution from the camera, at 320 x 240 pixels, really isn't much to write home about, but if your objective is to post your pics on the Web, the resolution is more than adequate. Plus you can store up to 3,000 pictures on this little device.

The video recorder allows you to store up to 12 minutes of full motion video (at 640 x 480) with sound at 30 frames per second. Considering that some of the more sophisticated recorders give you a choppy 15fps, this is a welcome feature.

For data storage, you simply connect it to an empty USB slot on your computer and drag and drop your files onto the device, using it as you would any other drive on your PC.

In addition it can be used to:

• Record up to 110 minutes of voice, allowing you to capture those moments when you don't have a pen and paper handy or those precious moments you want to preserve.
• Make Web conference calls using the Web cam or use it with your favorite instant messenger.
• Capture video using the DVR function and then transfer it to your PC and send it off to friends, family and colleagues via e-mail.

But to me, the greatest feature is its size. You get all of this functionality in a device about the size of a pen, fitting easily into your shirt pocket.

For more information, check out www.octave.com.

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