Hmm, where have we heard this one before?
Here,
here,
here, and oh yeah,
here too, but all those "world's smallest" flash drives now have to face
Kingmax's USB 2.0 Super Stick as it looks to challenge all the previous (and currently unconfirmed) claims of diminutive superiority. While it looks to be a revamped version of the company's
first iteration, this uber-slim flash drive weighs in at just a single gram, and measures 34- x 12.4- x 2.2-mm, which also means this just might be the easiest possible storage medium to lose track of. Nevertheless, this Vista / OS X-friendly drive comes in 512MB ($19), 1GB ($29), 2GB ($39), and 4GB ($55) flavors, and if you're interested in picking up a thumb drive that can probably double as a toothpick, it's available as we speak.
posted Mar 15th 2007 10:48PM
That doesn't look much smaller than the Freecom USB DataCard which goes up to 8GB, it's just missing the plastic surround. Still nice though.
Error: the Freecom card actually only goes up to 2GB so this is far better :P
Where is it available?
I picked up one of the 512Mb sticks about 6 months ago on a local online auction site. Not bad but the end with the hole (for a keyring, etc) is actually glued to the stick itself and can easily detach - it all looks like one block of plastic but it's not. Kind of frustrating but problem solved with some supa-glue.
Oh yeah, these things get really hot too in a short space of time.
Where I am (Toronto, Canada) the 2GB version goes for about $20US and the one 1GB can be had for $10US. http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=007118&cid=990.420
They're okay. But a little too small for my liking. I am always afraid of losing it.
I bought one of the 2 GB ones from there.. friggin thing is nearly broken at the back after a 2 months of use!
Kinda cool, but are these fast enough to use with Vista's ReadyBoost? And how exactly does the small form factor mesh with a normal USB slot, which I'm pretty sure is larger (thicker) than this device?
"which also means this just might be the easiest possible storage medium to lose track of."
Yeah, just like the silly microSD format that Brian White seems to think should be included with every device.
Sure, these "smallest" USB drives are an impressive feat, but they're hardly practical. Too easy to lose, too easy to snap in half.
What do you mean unvails? I've had one bought from ebay for like 2 month now, you have to see it live to believe how small that thing actually is.
On Amazon, you can get a 2G for 15 bucks.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000JWTQLI/ref=ord_cart_shr/104-0572707-7414347?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A2JDMO6KD2GDJR&v=glance
i've been using this (2GB) for almost a year now, i have the plastic area removed (accidental, it broke easily) and yea, this gets hot quite fast, but so far, no problems from that. it also don't support Readyboost, although im a little confused abt this since the one i bought for a friend (2GB, same model i think) can support Readyboost :D
i've been using this (2GB) for almost a year now, i have the plastic area removed (accidental, it broke easily) and yea, this gets hot quite fast, but so far, no problems from that. it also don't support Readyboost, although im a little confused abt this since the one i bought for a friend (2GB, same model i think) can support Readyboost :D
Wow, this thing makes my flash drive look like a boat!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820203008
I gotta get me a new thumb drive.
Heh, you think you have it bad? Do a google image search for "universal smart drive", I have one from ca. 2002, 128 mb. That and a 512 mb 1st gen shuffle (that I got free from my bank) are my only two flash drives. I know how cheap smaller drives with much larger capacity are, I just always keep forgetting to buy one.
i've been using this (2GB) for almost a year now, i have the plastic area removed (accidental, it broke easily) and yea, this gets hot quite fast, but so far, no problems from that. it also don't support Readyboost, although im a little confused abt this since the one i bought for a friend (2GB, same model i think) can support Readyboost :D
you can say that again (since you have said it three times what's one more)
Sony MicroVault, anyone?
http://www.mobilewhack.com/images/sony_micro_vault_tiny_usb_drive.jpg
I have been using one of these for about a year now (the 1gb version). It does get hot, but I haven't had any issues with the end coming off. I have also put it through the wash by mistake, and it came out unscathed.
Also, a far geekier, and much more expensive, "thin" thumb drive is the Hal 9000 USB offered from ThinkGeek.
I have one of these and it was great. The area with the hole that the keychain goes through broke off as another poster said, but then I just put it in my wallet.
What I don't get is why do we need SD or CompactFlash cards then? Why can't camera manufacturers just put a USB port inside their camera and use naked sticks such as these? They're no bigger than SD cards and way smaller than CF cards.
one word for it:
breakable!!!
Still cute though.
I bought one of these (4GB) in Hong Kong for about USD35. It's not one of the faster flash drives around. No specs on speed. But some file transfers showed a read speed of about 70x. Write was much slower, as is usually the case for flash memory. Pretty cool, though.
What is the smallest 8GB drive? I have 6GB of content and I am having a hard time finding an 8GB drive that is ReadyBoost.
Worlds smallest? What about SanDisks UltraII SD cards with built-in USB? I use one of these SanDisk models and find it excellent on all PCs and Macs. These chewing gum shape drives are a bit big for my liking.
This is really really old. 9 months or maybe more...all the plastics break off after a while.
See it here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/modrak/tags/kingmax/
http://www.atomicpark.com/shoppingcart.aspx?cmd=add&prodId=41048
Yep I agree : Sandisks sd cards are waay smaller.
I use the 1 gig version in my palm and transfer to mac and PC smaller than a postage stamp.
There was a 4GB that was half the lengh of that one for $65. I was about to buy it, but didnt really need it. Now, I forget the site. It was posted here on En, as well as other blogs. IT was far smaller than this thing.
@DateM
You're right, the SanDisk Ultra II w/ USB is much smaller. I have a few of these.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58809250@N00/423132813/
'Unveils?' I've had this exact drive for over a year, what the crap?
And for dude that asked how it fits: It actually goes INSIDE the metal sleeve on the usb connector.
This little drive is 4.22 sq.cm (3.4cm*1.24cm). An SD card is 7.32 (2.35cm*3.15cm-8mm^2 (the notch)) sq.cm at the same thickness. So this is smaller than an SD card.
omg....you guys recive the news so late, this thing is being on the market in Taiwan for two years.
and it's NOT THE SMALLEST
check this out
http://www.pretec.com/epages/Store.storefront/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Store.Pretec/Products/Q2UXXX#Specifications
I've had one of these for like 6 months. It's totally awesome. I took off the plastic casing around the chip to make it even smaller.
Not new, but still totally awesome. Got mine at PC CLub.
I would consider the OCZ roadster to be smaller
Unveiled? I've had one of these for a year, it's 1gb and I took off the plastic so it's tiny. Fits inside the coin pocket of my wallet. It's way smaller than a SD card with the USB prong on one side, it's the smallest one I've ever heard of but that doesn't mean there aren't smaller. It was only $27 with shipping too.
I just wish it had an activity LED, and didn't get so hot when I use it.
The SD cards with the USB interface are really cool, but so overpriced that they're questionably worth it.
I have 2 of these cards, and there's 2 versions that I know of. The white ones are standard, and go to high capacities, and there are blue ones that are high speed but they capped out at 2GB last I remember. I have a 128MB white one(it was free) and a 1GB blue one; the blue one is pretty fast and you can run pocket apps off it fine. The part where the hole is will break off over time though, so I have to use a memory card folder/wallet in my bag. It's damn tough though, and I can't imagine anybody snapping or breaking it(the main storage part) unless they do something reeeeally stupid or intentional.
The best thing is that it's perfect for creative flash drive projects like Playmobil person flash drives 'n such.