Corsair's Flash Readout USB 2.0 drive

Wouldn't it be nice to see how much space was left on your flash drive without having to find a computer to jam it into? Although the problem already has a few solutions, Corsair has released the CMFUSBREADOUT-1GB and CMFUSBREADOUT-2GB USB 2.0 drives rocking a not-so-typical Bi-stable Cholesteric Display (BCD). While internal functionality is nothing out of the ordinary, the snazzy external display features a 4 digit readout showing the capacity remaining (in MB), a pie chart showing the space used, and just for those who just love to customize, an 11 character programmable display to enter the drive's content. If you're concerned about the longevity of the display, it's presumably charged while in use, and can function "without a battery" for a year (saywha?). These data-driven drives will run you $39.99 (1GB) and $59.99 (2GB) and should go perfectly with your collection of devices that sport unnecessary, yet beneficial, displays.

[Via The Gadgets Weblog]

[James @ Jul 27th 2006 2:54PM]

$39 bucks for 1GB....thats so cheap!!! I remember when I bought my 512MB stick for $90 almost a year ago!

[ipodman715 @ Jul 27th 2006 3:06PM]

I wanna check out that BCD.

Here's an image on Newegg:
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/20-233-035-02.JPG

10 year warranty!

[Media Meltdown @ Jul 27th 2006 6:30PM]

$90 for a 512...someone doesn't know the meaning of "looking at an add in the paper." Just kidding...anyway this product looks sweet.

[Mobile Reviewer @ Jul 27th 2006 10:27PM]

im more impressed 2Gb card for $59. is it allready available at amazon?

[David @ Jul 28th 2006 12:38AM]

I'm guessing BCD is a form of e-Ink / e-Paper display.
ie: you spend alot of energy updating the display, but once its updated it doesnt need any (ANY!) power to retain the display for a very long time.

[Steve W @ Jul 28th 2006 7:32AM]

Hmmmmm... a nice little display could be handy for backups etc. Label it with content & date (in 11 characters, natch) and find the *right* stick. 2 lots of 11 characters rather than text + space free would be even handier...

[Shane @ Jul 28th 2006 1:11PM]

The trick is: a BCD (Bi-stable Cholesteric Display) can effectively display information without power. Power is only needed to toggle the pixels.

[1337W422102 @ Apr 14th 2007 3:48PM]

2 Gigs for $60? Seriously only 60 bucks? That's mad; I might get 2.