We have a device called an X drive onto which we empty our CF cards when full.

The device isnt that expensive but you need to buy or obtain the hard drive to slot inside it separately - it's just a regular laptop hard drive. For us this was a cheap solution as we had an old hard drive lying around which has plenty of space on it and was the right size. That said hard drives aren't expensive these days.

It's quick to use and actually fits quite snugly into even the very smallest of our camera bags, beneath the camera.

I have a Sony CD-300 with a 3.3 Megapixel resolution. The camera can be set to shoot and store at a lower resolution. I know of several people who choose the low resolution settings to try to get more shots on a CD, but the quality is poor. I get over 100 high-resolution shots (1.5 MB each)
per CD.
I have shot over three thousand shots so far, and people (non-family and friends) have been happy with the results. One of them was a cousin, also a semi-pro, who invested originally in a Nikon 3.3 megapixel model.
When I print, I get 8 1/2 x 11 phots that rival and even surpass 8 X 10s from my old Canon, Yashica and Pentax 35mms.
The newer cameras are capable of 4 and 5 megapixel photographs. I suggest shopping at other sites beyond Best Buy. I have no retail preference, but I have seen these at several locations in the $500-600 range. But, like film cameras, make sure you buy cameras designated for the American market if you want Sony America to honor the warranty. For peace of mind, avoid the "grey market."
As far as size, mine is slightly over an inch taller than the Sony Cybershot, but the other dimensions are the same.
Batteries last about an hour, but the camera shuts down after two minutes of idleness to conserve energy. I am a heavy user use three batteries when travelling overseas. I have never run out of juice before getting back to our lodging, even after finishing two CDs (over 220 shots). I've learned that with the CD model, battery time is consumed by too frequent looking at what you've shot (hard to resist) and taking lots of movie clips. In Taormina, I filled up two CDs (including over 15 mpg clips), and still managed to get back to the hotel without running dry.
The hard part is sorting out and figuring which shots NOT to post on my pages when I get home.
One more plus for the CD camera is if (when) I decide to get the newer and higher resolution "toy" there will be no concerns about compatibility of auxillary equipment, memory cards, etc.
Good luck with your selection.

Sorry, one more thing that I forgot to mention. The 3.3 megapixel translates to 2048x 1536 resolution.

Whatever you choose, I suggest always shooting at your maximum resolution to get the best possible "master" and use photo editing software to "step-down" the resolution for web-sites, e-mail or whatever.

If you have a high-resolution master, you can always create make a low-resolution copy. If you have a low-quality copy, you can never make a high-resolution copy. Image quality is more important than trying to fit lots of shots on a CD or memory stick.

Again, good luck.