Flash Drive -- Engadget

Flash drive bonanza: 36 crummy drives tested and compared!

by Laura June, posted Jul 6th 2009 at 4:32PM

The wild array of flash drives you see above -- a veritable cornucopia of bad taste, if you will -- has been put through some rather exhaustive paces by the freaks over at Test Freaks. That's right, they rounded up the finger tip, the tiny skull, the truly disgusting chicken foot, as well as a wide variety of fake edibles -- and poked and prodded them en masse until they came up with the answer we expected: most of these are actually pretty shoddily made. As if you buy a foul-looking shrimp tail flash drive because you expect it to get the best transfer rate. Hit the read link to check out the full insanity of this undertaking.

[Thanks, Vincent D.]

Solid Alliance's $10,000 Mnemosyne USB drive is built for style, not convenience

by Vladislav Savov, posted Jul 2nd 2009 at 5:47AM

The Greek goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, would surely be proud of this product bearing her name. For starters, it comes at a price few mere mortals can afford and is couched within an extravagant all-aluminum body. The puzzle cube certainly provides a ceremonial feel to accessing the data within, and makers Solid Alliance are pitching it as a luxurious receptacle for your most treasured memories. Yes, under all the sheen, you are still looking at 16GB of standard issue flash memory, but can we really put a price on mythology-infused style?

Star Wars flash drives' giant heads seep into our teensy hearts

by Laura June, posted Jul 1st 2009 at 11:52AM

We see so many flash drives around these parts, it is truly, truly hard for any to distinguish themselves in our eyes. These ones? Well, we'll admit it: we have a giant soft spot for their massive noggins. Not the first Star Wars flash drives we've seen -- this newest set store up to 2GB per drive -- which isn't anything to throw a party over, but they're really cute, right? The set, which includes Darth Vader, Yoda (look at his toes!), a Stormtrooper and Boba Fett, will be available starting in October for $25 each.

[Via Technabob]

Windows 7 could be sold on thumb drives, but probably not

by Joseph L. Flatley, posted Jun 26th 2009 at 1:50PM

As you know, Windows 7 pre-orders begin today (unless you're lucky enough to be in Europe, that is). This of course begs the question: what is a Win7-aspiring netbook owner to do? External optical drives are pretty kludgey, in our estimation, and trip to the Geek Squad? Out of the question. According to CNET, a "source" of some sort is goin' around saying that Microsoft is planning on making the OS available on USB thumb drives for the ultra-portable market, although we feel that such devices are best left to the college students who rely on campus computer labs -- or the occasional J.Lo album. As for Microsoft, they've said nothing about any of this, although we have noticed that its online store has all three upgrades (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate) available for pre-order download (at $49.99, $99.99, and $219.99 respectively). Problem solved, right?

Crapgadget: Delicious salmagundi of decorative inanities edition

by Laura June, posted Jun 21st 2009 at 12:36PM

We're always big fans of mixed-use gadgets -- but these ones kind of mutilate the principle. On hand today we've got a two pack of bedazzled necklaces -- one an MP3 player, the other a USB flash drive / watch combo. We've also unearthed a USB speaker that claims to be a whale, but more closely resembles a weird, in our opinion. Finally (and this one was worth the wait, trust us), we've got a tiny Moto Horn for your bike, which makes it "safer" to ride your bike by... making vroom vroom motorbike noises as you zoom along. Consider these our best suggestions for what to do with your disposable income, folks.

Read - USB Jewel Square Necklace MP3 Player
Read - USB Jewel Watch Necklace Flash Drive
Read - USB Cetacean Whale Speaker
Read - Moto Horn

Rocky III USB drives sadly missing Burgess Meredith version

by Laura June, posted Jun 18th 2009 at 9:31AM

Remember how awesome Rocky III was the first time you saw it? Come on, we know you were pumping your fist along to Survivor, you don't have to be shy about it now. Well, you can relive the well-toned glory that is Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa, and Clubber Lang in flash drive format, for only ¥2,850 (about $30) -- essentially a steal. Wait, where's Thunderlips?

Via Geeky Gadgets

Edge Tech announces cheaper 128GB USB flash drive, still not very cheap

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 16th 2009 at 3:58PM

Kingston got all the bragging rights by rolling out the first 128GB USB flash drive but, with that business now out of the way, other companies are now free to try to one-up 'em, and Edge Tech looks to be among the first to take a crack at it. While it does away with some of the added security and ruggedness of Kingston's offering, Edge Tech's latest DiskGO drive does match that magic 128GB storage capacity, and you will still get a seemingly durable aluminum housing, along with some basic encryption software for a bit of extra protection. Most importantly, however, Edge Tech's drive is more than $150 cheaper than Kingston's. Unfortunately for you and us, it's still $390. Look for it to start shipping on July 31st.

Kingston rolls out 128GB DataTraveler 200 USB flash drive

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 15th 2009 at 5:58PM

Feeling a little wistful for the old days when USB flash drives costs hundreds of dollars apiece? Then you may want to pick up Kingston's new 128GB DataTraveler 200, which is apparently not only largest drive of its type to date but, at $546, one of the most expensive as well. In addition to that added storage space, that hefty price will also buy you a fairly rugged drive with a capless design, plus some built-in password protection and the usual Windows ReadyBoost capabilities. Of course, if you don't need that extra space, you can simply pick up Kingston's 32GB or 64GB drives, which run a slightly more reasonable $120 and $213, respectively.

[Via Test Freaks]

Penguin USB drive is infinitely cute, hilarious

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 10th 2009 at 11:02AM

It's not like we haven't seen slightly funny / interesting / unorthodox USB flash drives before, but there's just something about a headless penguin hanging from a USB port that gets us chuckling. Available in 2/4/8/16GB capacities, the simply titled Penguin drive even gives a portion of its proceeds to the World Wildlife Fund, providing you with even more reason to cave to the urge and pick one up. This little fellow's up on Amazon right now for $12.95 to $42.95.

Gallery: Penguin USB drive is infinitely cute, hilarious

Transformers USB flash drive is ready to ravage your files, bring carnage to your desktop

by Laura June, posted May 19th 2009 at 4:44PM

Sure, you already have piles of flash drives scattered around your apocalyptic nightmare of an apartment, but this one's more special than those, right? Because it's a Transformer-- Ravage, AKA Tripredacus Agent. Ravage has outlived the age of cassette and is onto smaller, better things, and he can store up to 2GB of your most valuable data. He's going to run $42.99 when he's available in September, and can be pre-ordered now.

Update: It looks like the pre-order is already sold out! Wonder if the fact that we ordered 1,000 of them has anything to do with it?

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Mini MPC 2000XL / SP1200 flash drives let you take a little Kanye with you

by Laura June, posted May 5th 2009 at 3:04PM

We're not usually very enthused by flash drives, though occasionally they're cute enough to cause a flutter of interest. These, however, are hair-raisingly, insanely awesome. Designed with the modern musician in mind, these two bad boys are convincingly modeled on the AKAI MPC2000XL sampler and the EMU SP1200 drum machine. And by "convincingly modeled" we mean that they look pretty much exact to their original counterparts. They have a 4GB capacity and are going to run you $39.95 each, and you can pre-order them now. We strongly suggest that you look into doing just that. Several more shots after the break.

[Via Crate King; thanks George]

Continue reading Mini MPC 2000XL / SP1200 flash drives let you take a little Kanye with you

Ennova announces USB drive with OLED screen / fingerprint scanner

by Donald Melanson, posted Apr 28th 2009 at 9:31PM

It's still a little ways from an actual release, but it looks like the folks at Ennova Direct just couldn't help themselves from announcing that they've received a patent for a newfangled biometric USB flash drive that packs a built-in OLED screen. Even better, that OLED screen apparently actually doubles as the fingerprint scanner, which may not add much extra in terms of security, but should be good for at least a few gee whiz moments. The actual patent, however, isn't for that bit of convergence, but for the sliding mechanism that covers the screen when it's closed and pops out the USB connector when it's open. No word on pricing or capacities just yet, but it looks like the first few drives should be available under the ION Technologies brand sometime in the first quarter of 2010.

[Via OLED-Display.net]

LaCie DataShare recycles your bits, will never say goodbye or hurt you

by Thomas Ricker, posted Apr 28th 2009 at 6:51AM

As gadget nerds and Type-A early adopters, you no doubt have a few microSD and SD / SDHC cards laying around that Cheeto-farm you call an office. LaCie's $10 DataShare USB card readers let you recycle those cards into make-shift USB drives. Not bad for a ginger. Watch the uncomfortably arousing video after the break -- go ahead it's safe, LaCie wants you to.

[Via Pocket-Lint]

Continue reading LaCie DataShare recycles your bits, will never say goodbye or hurt you

Crapgadget: No wonder the economy sucks edition

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 27th 2009 at 1:08AM

While we here at Engadget are doing everything in our power to get this philosophical "economy" back "on track," it's items like these that aren't doing anything to help. No innovation. No stimulating capabilities. No utility at all, really. Just a webcam that scans business cards, an MP3 player shaped like a cow and a flash drive that's absolutely not certified for circulation by the Democratic National Committee. Though, we must say that they're all tailor made for Crapgadget, which is (just barely) good enough for us -- drop your vote for the lamest below!

Read - CowCow MP3 player
Read - 4-Port Soccer Ball USB Hub
Read - MSI StarCam Flip Webcam
Read - USB Bird Fan
Read - Bling Bling USB Card Reader
Read - Obama Flash Drive

EagleTec Nano flash drive makes losing data easier than ever

by Donald Melanson, posted Apr 22nd 2009 at 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]