If you'll recall, Microsoft announced that it was teaming up with SanDisk last May to conjure up a suitable U3 replacement. Not quite a year later, we're starting to hear the first whispers of what that replacement may be. Purportedly dubbed StartKey, the so-called Windows companion would essentially allow users to "carry their Windows and Windows Live settings with them" on any sort of flash memory device -- be it a USB drive, SD card, etc. Interestingly, it's also being reported that Redmond would like to "build an end-to-end StartKey environment," but aside from the tidbit that it should be out in at least beta form by the year's end, pretty much everything else remains murky.

[Via ArsTechnica, image courtesy of Tom's Hardware]

While whispers and supposed shots of Motorola's ROKR U9 have been around for a tick, the PEBL-icious handset -- along with the similarly styled U9 and the W5 clamshell -- are finally getting detailed. Reportedly, the U9 will tout a 1.4-inch 160 x 128 resolution OLED (externally), two-megapixel camera, GSM / GPRS / EDGE connectivity, a 1.8-inch QVGA screen (internal), microSD expansion slot, USB, Bluetooth, and "touch sensitive keys." The U3 looks to be an entry-level sibling with a less attractive external display and a VGA camera, while the ROKR W5 will purportedly include a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 1.9-inch 220 x 176 resolution display, 20MB of internal storage, a microSD slot, 96 x 85 pixel external screen, miniUSB, Bluetooth, A2DP support, and quad-band GSM connectivity. No word on pricing or release dates just yet, but do click on for a few more pictures.

Read - ROKR U9
Read - ROKR W5
Read - ROKR U3

The Asus U3, which we told you about back in the hot and humid days of July, has gotten its official announcement from the company -- and it looks pretty sweet. The Santa Rosa-based, 13.3-inch laptop still rocks a Core 2 Duo processor (in T7500, T7300, T7100, T5450, T5250, CM540), a Nvidia GeForce G8400M G External graphics chipset, up to 2.5GB of RAM, and a 160GB SATA hard drive. In the communications department, the U3 packs 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.0, but apparently the GPS we mentioned will be offered as an option along with 3G connectivity and turbo memory. The system also includes a slew of ports, like eSATA, HDMI, GPS RF in, USB, Firewire, VGA/D-Sub, and TV out, plus rocks a built-in 1.3 megapixel webcam and fingerprint reader. Luckily for you fashion plates, Asus has stuck with the leather-bound hand rests and "piano black" exterior, all wrapped up in a magnesium aluminum alloy, which the company thinks is perfect for "metropolitan professionals." The laptop is rumored to be available in September for around $2000.

[Via Laptoping]

Asus, a company that's pushing some pretty interesting and innovative products into the spotlight as of late, is stepping up to bat with another new entry, dubbed the U3. The 13.3-inch ultraportable rocks a Billy Joel-approved "piano black" exterior, with a smooth, sensual leather finish on the palm rests, making it stylistically quite distinctive. The U3 features the much-loved Santa Rosa chipset, and will likely utilize one of Intel's low voltage Core 2 Duo processors (the L7500, for instance), but that's just where the fun begins on this baby. The jam-packed specs include integrated GPS, HDMI and S-Video outs, eSATA, USB, and Firewire ports; SD and ExpressCard 54 slots; and an NVIDIA 8400M graphics chipset -- which can be switched off via hardware for power conservation. Asus reps say the system is due in September at a price point somewhere around $2,000.

[Thanks, Coriolis]

Samsung's YP-U3 just made an appearance in France where Generation MP3 pulled an exclusive first look at the nostalgic YEPP audio stick. While confirming the specs we've already seen, GMP3 tells us that the U3 will be set free in Europe this June with prices topping out at €129/$174 for what figures to be the 4GB player. But it's not like we're saving up or anything.

We're not so massively fond of the whole U3 machine-independent application and computing package thing, but if there's one thing we can get behind, it's a big ol' damned flash memory drive. Toshiba's new TransMemory line, which they're launching in November in sizes from 512MB to 4GB, are all well and good, but only the 16GB Limited Edition due in December would have gotten get us through the year (what with the occasional Vista build and Leopard beta and all). Of course, as with the other 8GB+ flash memory drives, we leave it to Toshiba to ensure we aren't extorted for five or more figures in order to get our unworthy hands on one.

[Via FarEastGizmos]

The U3 standard for mobile applications continues to gain steam, with Kingston being just one of the latest to add another U3-compatible flash drive to its lineup. The U3 Data Traveler, now in capacities of up to 2GB, comes bundled with mobile versions of the Pass2Go password manager, the ACDSee image browsing application and the Zinio e-reader. It would be nice if Kingston could also throw in mobile versions of apps like Firefox and Thunderbird, but it's easy enough to download them from the U3 site. Kingston's a little vague on whether the software on the drive consists of free "lite" versions, or trials of the full-featured programs, so don't be surprised if you're hit with nags after using the drive for a while. The 1GB version has an MSRP of $47, while the 2GB goes for $75.