EagleTec Nano flash drive makes losing data easier than ever
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 22nd 2009 4:34PM
posted April 22nd 2009 4:34PM
Still haven't found a USB drive small enough for your needs? Then you might want to consider EagleTec's new Nano flash drive now available from the ever dependable folks at Brando, which measures an impossibly tiny 19 x 15 x 6 mm and weighs in at a mere three grams. Despite that size, however, you'll still get a fairly generous 4GB or 8GB of storage ($22 and $33, respectively), and an included lanyard that'll let you attach it to something you're less likely to misplace, though you're on your own keeping the drive's cap from wandering off.
[Via OhGizmo]
[Via OhGizmo]
Any word on the read/write speed of this little guy?
Slow. Dont buy a usb drive if you want high r/w
He might be asking for purposes of ReadyBoost, and some USB drives can hit R/W speeds that are respectably faster than 5400RPM laptop drives. My ADATA drive can hit 35MB/s read (Large single file), and I know there are some OCZ ones that tout speeds over 40MB/s.
My guess is that this one is not fast enough for readyboost...it probably has the smallest, cheapest controller they could find.
Kamokazi is spot on with what I was thinking.
USB drive?
I dont see one.
i have a pico supertalent 8 gb. its solid and all metal and i love it. im totally buying this right now
I used to have a MicroSD card that doubled as a USB flash drive. So it was pretty small (and functional). What happened to it? I lost it.
that is... small!
I would lose it so that's a no for me.
Easier to find too, since people will lose them.
Think positive, and keep those eyes open.
That's what she said.
wat
Excuse me? is that some new Apple computer? It looks very different!
in for 2 already.
Micro-SD is smaller because it's flatter, although it might not have a USB connector I think there are SD-size-adaptors now that you can also insert in USB slots making the complete package the same size possibly as this device, yet flatter.
Anyway micro-sd is easier to lose I bet.
Yes, there are adapters that are smaller than this thing.
Not to mention you can get a 4GB microSD card for like $10 these days.
Too bad my large "USB DRIVE" is far too large and thick to lose any "data", and that kids is why you should use "protection" caps to prevent the "transfer" of data, or viruses.
Your attempt at humor has failed miserably. Sorry.
I'm all about the epic post.. so go cry somewhere else.
I have a really thin Trancend 8Gb drive, its too thin to fit in an iMac USB drive...
However, Big drives suck, because if the ports re close up then its hard to fit loads of devices in.
Epic post? Epic post of failure is more like it
What flavors does it come in? Grape and cherry, or just lemon?
boo
One of the few USB flash drives that won't block the adjacent USB port on a Macbook Air...
If only there were an adjacent port ...
Was waiting for these comments :)
Man... 8GB for $33. And to think that only a few years ago I paid like $80 for a 2GB SD card.
Looking forward to the continued plummeting of flash memory prices.
Looks to be about the same size as the receiver for my Nano VX wireless mouse, and I've managed to hold onto that for over a year now. Not a bad deal or design, but I'm willing to bet the R/W speeds on this thing are horrible, so for now I'll pass. I expect good things from version 2.0, however.
Still too big. I'll wait for a thumb drive that is the size of just a USB plug that comes with a cord to pull it out of the jack.
You mean like a USB tampon? o_O
This is actually bigger than the one I had for quite a while. Mine was only 1gb because that's all I needed, and it was about $11 on eBay. I know they came in higher capacities though.
**not to confuse, I wasn't just talking about capacity, this thing is physically bigger than the one I had too :) Anyone interested should just do a quick eBay search, there are plenty of micro USB drives for teh cheapz. I think mine was PNY. It was purple and came with a little rubber holder. I kept the holder attached to my keys and the USB drive in the holder, and despite the lack of a way to close it, it never came close to falling out. Highly reccomend it.
The most amazing thing about a device this shape and size is that is was not invented sooner.
I'd be way to afraid to use this thing because I would probably lose it. But it would probably be great for a Blu-ray player for BD-Live featrues without taking up space behind the unit.
That's a great point about using it for your BD player.
This would be sweet if it was fast enough for readyboost - doubt it is though.
Meh if they fall on their face for that price they could always sell them as "usb port dust caps" to the ignorant...
If only I could get an EVDO card this size...
Looks like the receiver for my mouse
Yeah, the VX Nano from Logitech is the one I have. I always keep mine in the usb port because I'm terrified of losing it and having to buy a new mouse/receiver combo. But doing the same thing with a flash drive kind of defeats the purpose of said flash drive, does it not?
I'd say perfect for netbooks looking to add some storage long term without having a protruding stick all the time.
It'd be handy for hardware firewalls. You could boot from and it its cheaper than a similar SSD.
Just ordered one. Looks to be about as big as the Logitech VX Nano's receiver, which (if anyone who has one knows) is a godsend.
Engadget apparently forgot about their own article (kind'a embarrassing, if you ask me) on folding SD cards with a USB connector in the middle.
http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/06/sandisk-ces-sd-card-with-built-in-usb-adapter/
Much smaller, by far... and the new ones are incredibly fast. It'll even squeeze uncomfortably in to a Macbook Air.
And how exactly is an SD card sized device smaller than this drive?
Check your measurements, Mike. SD cards are two to four times thinner than USB flash drives (including the tiny one pictured in this article), and not all that long either. From what I can tell, it's not much longer or wider than this flash drive either... so yes, it's significantly smaller.
thinner != smaller
I have a Sony Micro Vault Tiny that I always carry around and have never lost. It's now the second smallest USB drive. Well, I think it is still the thinest, because it doesn't have the metal outer part of the connector. This Nano may be my next drive.
I've got a cheapo Transcend for the wallet that's the flat USB without the metal cage around it. I used to have the Micro Vault Tiny, but it cracked into pieces in the wallet. I think it was the clear plastic that was too rigid for the slight bending that occurred in the wallet. The Transcend has lasted me a year now.
I'd love to get this thing. It'd be the perfect little wart to stick out of the side of my Eee 1000H.
Enter key looks like it's about to fall off that MBA. That's what you pay $1800 for? Cheapo.
Yes, besides, I hate those Enter keys that don't span two rows vertically.