thumbdrive
Latest
LaCie and Porsche Designs reveal USB 3.0 thumb drive, flash storage never looked faster
LaCie and Porsche Designs are at it again, but this time their storage collaboration has a slightly smaller footprint. The companies' latest effort is a brushed steel USB 3.0 thumb drive that's available in 16GB and 32GB varieties, starting at $30. For the security minded, files onboard are password-locked and protected with AES 256-bit encryption -- there's a free year of Wuala cloud-storage included too. You won't have to worry about a speeding ticket with this Porsche's transfers either -- the're rated at so-so 95MBs.
Mimobot's US Presidents flash drives give Americans patriotic storage
We wouldn't have foreseen thumb drives figuring prominently into our President's Day observations, and yet... here we are. In sync with the holiday, Mimoco has kicked off a US Presidents collection of Mimobot storage that lets Americans carry their national pride on their USB 2.0 ports. Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are the only current options -- what, no William Henry Harrison model? -- but the 8GB to 64GB of capacity should keep either stick useful once the novelty wears off. As long as you're prepared to spend between $20 to $130 to pick one up, either of the Mimobots is a decent choice for a drive. Just hurry if you want a flash-based replica of the country's key founder -- there's only 1,000 Washington drives to go around.
Hands-on with Kingston's DataTraveler Workspace at IDF (video)
What's this? Just another USB 3.0 thumbdrive at IDF 2012? Not quite. You're looking at Kingston's DataTraveler Workspace, a storage device that incorporates bona fide SSD technology not usually found in thumbdrives -- like a bunch of ultra speedy flash memory and a SandForce controller that supports TRIM and S.M.A.R.T commands. As such, it shares more in common with Kingston's line of SSDs. It's not really designed for data storage -- instead, it's meant to be used as a certified Windows To Go fixed drive, "a fully manageable corporate Windows 8 workspace on a specially configured, bootable USB drive". The idea is that corporate IT can deploy these thumbdrives to employees who can then run a secure, managed instance of Windows on a variety of PCs with a bootable USB 2.0 (or faster) port. Another interesting feature of Windows To Go is that Kingston's DT Workspace thumbdrives can be removed for up to 1 minute without crashing Windows -- the OS simply alerts the user to "keep the USB drive plugged in" and continues where it left off. Pricing remains a mystery, but the device will be available for business customers in 32, 64 and 128GB capacities when Windows 8 launches. Until then, you're invited to peek at the gallery below and to watch our hands-on video past the break.
SanDisk outs Extreme USB 3.0 flash drive alongside a trio of Cruzers
If diminutive USB-friendly storage is a hobby of yours, SanDisk is looking to add to your collection. The company has announced its USB 3.0-weilding Extreme flash drive and added a handful of new siblings to the Cruzer line. First, the Extreme accessory touts transfer speeds of up to 190MB/s while offering storage capacities ranging from 16GB on up to 64GB. This portable storage device is now shipping and will set you back somewhere between $65 and $160. If you're looking to carry a truckload of photos, videos, music or whatever else on a USB flash drive, the company has also unveiled the Cruzer Glide. While only 4GB to 64GB options are available now starting at $19.99, a 128GB model is slated to arrive in Q3 for $250. Not looking for super-sized capacity at your fingertips? Perhaps the Cruzer Facet or Pop will better suit your sensibilities -- both carry 8GB up to 32GB worth of storage with a price range of $32.99 to $84.99. For a few brief details on the four, hit that PR button below to read on.
Stuxnet pinned on US and Israel as an out-of-control creation
Ever since Stuxnet was discovered, most of the accusing fingers have been pointed at the US, Israel or both, whether or not there was any evidence; it was hard to ignore malware that seemed tailor-made for wrecking Iranian centrifuges and slowing down the country's nuclear development. As it turns out, Occam's Razor is in full effect. An exposé from the New York Times matter-of-factly claims that the US and Israel coded Stuxnet as part of a cyberwar op, Olympic Games, and snuck it on to a USB thumb drive that infected computers at the Natanz nuclear facility. The reason we know about the infection at all, insiders say, is that it got out of control: someone modified the code or otherwise got it to spread through an infected PC carried outside, pushing Obama to either double down (which he did) or back off. Despite all its connections, the newspaper couldn't confirm whether or not the new Flame malware attack is another US creation. Tipsters did, however, deny that Flame is part of the Olympic Games push -- raising the possibility that there are other agencies at work. [Image credit: David Holt, Flickr]
Verbatim's Store 'n' Go V3 thumb drives pack USB 3.0, start at $20 for 8GB
Portable flash drives specced to USB 3.0 have been around since before Apple's original iPad was introduced, but finding 'em on the cheap can still be quite the task. Enter Verbatim's Store 'n' Go V3 drives, which are set to fit said bill, starting at just $20 bucks for 8GB of storage with options up to 64GB. The USB connector retracts for storage to save you from fussing with caps, and you'll also have your pick from "seven trendy colors." Mum's the word on the maximum transfer speeds you can expect, but we doubt it's a major concern at this price. The Store 'n' Go V3s are already on sale and you'll find more details in the press release after the break.
Sony's Micro Vault MACH thumbdrives move fast, look good doing it
120 MB/s reads and 90 MB/s writes are far from the fastest in the thumbdrive game, but they're nothing to sneeze at either. While Sony's Micro Vault MACH may not lead the pack in raw speed, it holds its own and looks damnably good doing it. The USB 3.0 stick is cased in a brushed aluminum shell and sports a red indicator LED that, if it moved, might make it look like you had a Cylon attached to your PC. The drives should be available later this month in 16, 32 and 64GB varieties, though, pricing is still a mystery. Check out the gallery below and PR after the break.
Verbatim's Store 'n Go Plus thumbdrives get rugged, sport a one-piece suit
Still carry around thumb drives? No worries, we do too from time to time. If you're in the market for a new compact, portable storage device, Verbatim has just revealed their Store 'n' Go Plus. With capacities ranging from 4GB on up to 32 GB, you're sure to find a suitable USB 2.0 option for your workload. The System in Package design doesn't force you keep up with an end cap and sports a ruggedized design that should withstand lengthy stays in your messenger bag. Available later in Q1, the family starts at $19.99 and heads north. We have to admit, though, these aren't nearly as awesome as the Swiss Army variety.
Kingston HyperX is an SSD soul stuck in a flash drive's body (video)
Every time we get a free USB key, we wince at the memory of spending $70 on a measly four gigs back in '06. That's why a company like Kingston has to up its game with kit like the new Data Traveler HyperX 3.0. Far from your average thumb drive, this little monster is powered by the same HyperX technology that you find inside the company's premium SSD line. The performance is pretty impressive, getting 225MB/s read and 135MB/s write -- making it Kingston's fastest ever flash drive (and a tempting shot at expanding the solid state storage on a laptop). The setup is capped off with a sturdy rubber cover and keyring hook, although we wouldn't fancy putting gear this expensive at the mercy of our car keys. Kingston isn't saying when the devices are coming out, but expect the 64GB model to set you back $193, with 128GB running up a tab to the tune of $377. Rather ominously, 256GB has no price -- presumably, if you have to ask how much it costs, you clearly can't afford it.
Ask Engadget: best rugged (but tiny) USB flash drive?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Chris, who seems to be looking for the world's toughest (and smallest) USB flash drive. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I'm looking for a good USB flash thumb drive that I can put on my keychain. I'd like one that is rather small in physical size, but, more importantly, can take a beating; especially at the spot where it connects to a keychain. Thank you." This guy? If not him, what? Help a brother out in comments below!
Apple's OS X Lion USB sticks now available online, for $69
After more than a week's worth of rumors and speculation, Apple has finally released its OS X Lion USB thumb drive, available now at its online store. This little stick offers a physical media alternative to Cupertino's otherwise App Store-centric distribution model, providing access to OS X Lion for $69. One caveat, however, is that users who download the software via thumb drive won't be able to re-install it using the recently released Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, but will have to rely upon the USB stick, instead. The other caveat, of course, is price, as just $29 will get you the exact same OS, via the App Store. To grab one for yourself, hit up the source link, below.
Lion will ship on USB drives in August
In the hustle and the bustle today, we failed to note a minor detail in Apple's Lion press announcement, but MacRumors picked it up: Users who do not have broadband access at home, work or school can download Lion at Apple retail stores and later this August, Lion will be made available on a USB thumb drive through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) for $69 (US). So much for the absence of physical media. The option to download at an Apple Store is nice (either bring your Mac, or bring a drive with enough free space to carry Lion home); the USB install media will be equally nice, and very welcome for those supporting multiple machines with touchy ISP connectivity. It's an extra $40, but them's the breaks.
Super Talent USB 3.0 Express RC8 looks like a thumb drive, acts like an SSD
It seems too much to hope for, but Super Talent insists it has the benchmarks to prove it: a USB 3.0 stick that achieves 270MB/s reads and 240MB/s writes under optimal conditions. Unlike your average joe flash drive, the RC8 boasts a fully-fledged (albeit previous-generation) SandForce SSD controller that permits the simultaneous use of eight channels of NAND memory. In other words, this zippy little thing actually is an SSD, enclosed in an aluminum case that measures 1-inch wide, 4-inches long and 0.3-inches thick. No definitive word on pricing yet, but it was reported at Computex that a 50GB variant would go for around $110, while 25GB and 100GB capacities will also be available. Now, could someone please hurry up and build a Thunderbolt version?
Mimobot Transformers thumb drives are exactly what meets the eye
Oh, look, Mimoco is back with a couple of new USB flash drives. These particular Mimobots come in the likeness of everyone's second favorite morphing robot rivals -- Optimus Prime and Megatron. (Obviously Cy-Kill and Leader-1 take the top slot in our hearts.) Sadly, these Transformer thumb drives don't actually transform, but they do come preloaded with screensavers, wallpapers, and digital comics... if you're into that sort of thing. The Autobot and Decepticon leaders are available now, starting at $23 for 2GB of storage and reaching $60 for the 16GB model. PR is after the break.
Microsoft to malware: your AutoRunning days on Windows are numbered
Beware, malware. The Windows AutoRun updates for Vista and XP SP3 that Microsoft released in February have so far proven successful in thwarting your file corrupting ways. Although Windows 7 was updated to disable AutoPlay within AutoRun for USB drives -- freezing the ability for a virus to exploit it -- the aforementioned versions had remained vulnerable up until right after January. Fast-forward to the period between February and May of this year, and the updates have reduced the number of incidents by 1.3 million compared to the three months prior for the supported Vista and XP builds. Amazingly, when stacked against May of last year, there was also a 68 percent decline in the amount of incidents reported across all builds of Windows using Microsoft's Malicious Software Remove Tool. There's another fancy graph after the break to help illustrate, and you'll find two more along with a full breakdown by hitting the source link down under.
Kingston refreshes DataTraveler Ultimate USB 3.0 flash drive, demonstrates the high price of speed
Sick and tired of the Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0's slow-as-molasses 80MB/sec read speeds? Good news, the flash drive has been souped up for a second generation, offering up 100MB/sec read and 70 MB/sec write speeds when plugged into a USB 3.0 port -- plugging into a 2.0 port should give you in the neighborhood of 30MB/s for both read and write. That speed ain't cheap, however -- the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB drives will run you $77, $116, and $213, respectively. The drives are available now and the press release is after the break -- if you can catch it.
PQI USB 3.0 flash drive is world's smallest, easiest to misplace
Storage in the cloud has limited the appeal of previous-generation flash drives, but until we can beam 32GB video clips across the web in less than a minute, there's always room for a USB 3.0 "traveling disk" on our key rings. Especially when it's smaller than a key. The PQI U819V measures just 3.15cm long, but ships with a keyring and attached cap, so at least its accessories will be nearby when it gets misplaced in your desk drawer. We're still waiting on pricing and availability information, but we do know that storage capacity ranges from 4GB to 32GB, and the drive is backwards-compatible with USB 2.0 ports. PQI says the drive's cap also doubles as a cell phone ornament, but if you need a square silver USB cap to dress up your mobile, you may want to redirect some cash from your flash drive fund to upgrade your cell.
Windows 8 to feature USB-runnable Portable Workspaces, sales of 16GB thumb drives set to soar
There are endless flavors of "Linux on a stick," tasty downloadable versions of that OS which run from removable storage and let you take Linus' progeny for a spin without dedicating any of your partitions to the cause. There have been ways of making this work with Windows, too, but now Microsoft is getting into the game properly. That leaked version of Windows 8 we looked at recently contains a feature called Portable Workspaces, which enables you to take a 16GB (or greater) external storage device and dump a bootable, runnable copy of Win 8 on there. It remains to be seen just how many copies one could create, and whether they ever expire or, indeed, whether they can themselves be copied onto an HDD like a ghost image, but it's easy to see this as a boon for support personnel. Well, support personnel of the future, anyway. [Thanks, Peter]
The Collector concept turns unused microSD cards into a refillable thumb drive
Digging through our drawers here at Engadget there is one thing we're clearly not in desperate need of: USB flash drives. We also happen to have a plethora of microSD cards in 1GB an 2GB sizes, left over from the days when picking a smartphone meant Windows Mobile or BlackBerry. This concept USB drive, dubbed The Collector, could potentially solve our conundrum by allowing us to toss all those thumb drives and find a use for our now homeless microSD chips. The Collector wouldn't have any storage of its own, instead you'd slip up to three microSD cards into it and, when full, simply swap them out for more. It would also combine your smaller chunks of storage into a single block, so those three 2GB scraps would become a slightly less useless 6GB drive. Of course, keeping that pile of microSD cards (now bound by common data) organized might actually be a bigger headache than rifling through your drawers looking for that OFWGKTA mixtape you downloaded so many months ago.
Rogue modder rips off stingy consumer, puzzles repairmen... all with a USB thumb drive
Welcome to today's episode of "You Get What You Pay For," starring some poor sap in Russia who bought an external hard drive in China for a "very, very low price." It seemed like a bargain, until the schmo noticed that video files were picking up from the tail end, as if the preceding footage had vanished. When the folks at a local repair shop tore the disk apart they found a dinky 128MB thumb drive running in a loop, emptying itself when full only to start saving more data. Laugh all you want, but the repair guys (and us, frankly) are still scratching their heads as to how those scam artists pulled off this mod in the first place. [Thanks, David S.]
