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New MacBook Airs come with Software Reinstall USB drive
What's a MacBook Air to do in the case of a software emergency without an internal or external optical drive? Well, Apple's thankfully considered that situation, and has included a Software Reinstall USB drive with both the 11-inch and 13-inch models. As a bonus, it also makes an attractive addition to a keychain or necklace. Update: We took some shots of the drive. It's a really small USB drive! Storage comes up at around 8GB, of which 7.5GB is used for the OS X and iLife installers. %Gallery-105594%
Crapgadget: Animal House redux edition
College: four (or five, or six) years of crackin' brews, listening to tunes, trippin' out to light shows, and snugglin' up to coeds at bonfires on the beach. Just in time for homecoming, we have an assemblage of crapgadets that should put you in good stead, including: iBottleopener (turns your iPhone into, well, a bottle opener, for a mere $20), the BONE iPhone portable amplifier (a large, ugly horn that essentially turns your handset into a Victor Talking Machine for $25), Glow In The Dark USB memory sticks (capacities up to 16GB for $90), and an honest-to-goodness lighter that does double duty as an 8GB flash drive ($37). Which one of these "party favors" isn't doing anybody any favors? Cast your vote below. Read - iBottleOpener Read - BONE iPhone Case Series Read - Zip Zip Glow Read - USB Flash Drive Lighter (8GB Edition) %Poll-54367%
ADATA's S007 military spec USB flash drive is designed for the battlefield
It doesn't boast the eSATA / USB 3.0 capabilities of the N909, but ADATA's new S007 is easily the tougher of the two. Designed to be fully compliant with US MIL-SPEC standards, this new USB key is available in capacities up to 32GB and should provide careless handlers with "unrivaled digital data protection from both impacts and electric shocks." Both of 'em (it's available in green and red) are wrapped in a rubber coating, and transfer at USB 2.0 speeds (upwards of 30MB/sec on the read side and 8MB/sec on the write side), but sadly, there's no mention of a price or release date.
Verbatim's Clip-it is a USB drive with paperclip ambitions
It sure is hard to differentiate yourself in the highly competitive world of ever-shrinking USB storage. To avoid this trend of disregard, Verbatim has sent its latest offering off to paper management school and the results are now apparent for us to see. The new Clip-it comes with an added incision in the middle of its lilliputian body that allows it to act as a paperclip or maybe even a handsome accessory to your geek chique outfit. Verbatim makes sure to tell us (about eleventy times) that the Clip-it has scooped up a red dot Design Award for its ingenuity, and prices the thing at eminently affordable €8.99 (2GB) and €11.49 (4GB) levels. Those correspond to $12 and $15.34, respectively, meaning you could have the whole set of seven colors for less than what you'd have to spend on just one iWatch.
LaCie MosKeyto streamlines portable storage, invites bad puns
LaCie's keeping up its eccentric branding strategy today with this pest-inspired new USB key. Measuring a mere 20mm in length and 10 grams in weight, the MosKeyto is ready to all but disappear once you plug it into your computer, and it'll outdo its physical counterpart by not only sucking data down but pushing it back out should you want it. Basically, it's yet another miniaturized USB drive and can be owned today, starting at $18 for the 4GB version. 8GB will set you back $28 and there's a 16GB variant to come as well. Got all that? Good. Now buzz off.%Gallery-101243%
Doc Marten USB drive makes puppies look skinny, gristle throb
We've all been there: hands punched violently into pockets, conspicuously affected by the visceral industrial hum of big city decay. If only we had this $25 limited edition 50th anniversary 2GB "stomper" USB drive to complete our ensemble. Who knows, in the right hands it might have helped Jesus build a hotrod.
A steampunk USB drive that could clean H. G. Wells' house
Site ChipChick nailed it when noting the similarity between this 8GB steampunk USB drive and Rosie the Robot of Jetsons yore. The drive's creator, however, says it was inspired by a "narrow bridge" sign seen on a old country road. Really? Just look at that barrel-shaped cap staring down at you from atop a frilly gear collar; hands on hips in a tempestuous pose that makes us feel like we've somehow wronged her. Regardless, for $300 she'll make a fine addition to your alternate-history abode.
A-DATA's N909 thumb drive taps into eSATA for extra oomph
It's not the first thumb drive we've seen that taps into eSATA in order to provide near-USB 3.0 speeds without a SuperSpeed socket, but A-DATA's N909 ditches that awful design scheme from years back in favor of a much more streamlined approach here. Designed to utilize that USB 2.0 + eSATA combo port that's found on most modern day laptops, the N909 doesn't require an extra USB connection for power. Internally, the four-channel design enables the stick to achieve transfer rates of up to 90MB/sec (read) and 50MB/sec (write), and it'll also function just fine in a standard USB 2.0 socket (albeit at far slower speeds). No pricing information is being handed down just yet, but they should hit shelves soon in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities.
LaCie's XtremKey tested... emotionally (video)
Look, we all know that the wusses at the Engadget HQ couldn't put a dent in LaCie's ultra-rugged XtremKey, not even if their moms packed handguns in their fanny packs alongside the Fruit Roll-Ups, Mace, and wads of PR bribe cash. So we decided to take a different angle in testing the drive: we decided to bum it out. Watch the video after the break.
LaCie's XtremKey: it's pretty rugged, we guess
OK GUYS, WE GET IT. Sheesh, it's like they think we're a bunch of klutzes or something. Sure, there was that one time with the garbage disposal... one time. But after that... alright, the time with the mud, and the thing with the ocean. Oh, and when we dropped 2GB of Word documents into a black hole. Still, we hardly deserve to be treated like children. LaCie has stepped up the condescension to new levels with its XtremKey, a drive that's waterproof up to 100 meters, temperature proof from -58 degrees Fahrenheit to +400, and resistant to 16 foot drops. This ruggedness is accomplished by screwing the USB drive into a 2mm thick metal pipe that can withstand the pressure of a 10 ton truck rolling over it. Like that would ever happen that one time. The drive ranges in capacity from 8GB to 64GB, and will be out in August for some exorbitant, as-yet-undisclosed cost. Check out a needlessly abusive video of the drive after the break. %Gallery-97432%
Crapgadget: frightening party favors edition
There are a few things in life you can count on. And we mean really count on. You may argue "taxes," but as one Wesley Snipes has so clearly proven, even those can be evaded given the right motive. Instead, we're arguing that the next installment of Crapgadget is indeed more likely to be unavoidable, evidenced by the fact that you're reading this right now. What's up in today's best of the worst? Oh, just a USB arm wrestler, a knockoff Land Rover mobile phone, a faux gold World Cup trophy storage device and a handgun that's anything but. And that's just for starters. Dive in below if you've got a stomach of steel and a thing for sick jokes, and be sure to cast your vote for which turns your evil smile up the most. Read - USB arm wrestlers Read - Land Rover phone Read - Transformers USB drive Read - World Cup Trophy USB drive Read - USB handgun Read - USB itch removal instrument %Poll-48544%
Concrete USB drives are worth their weight in gigabytes
Sure, a USB drive made of concrete might be a good enough idea on its own, but designer Shu-Chun Hsiao apparently doesn't settle for merely "good ideas," hence this so-called Memory Weights concept. Yes, it is indeed a USB drive made of concrete, but Shu-Chun takes things one step further by actually having the weight of the drive indicate its capacity -- 128g equals 128GB, and so on. Unfortunately, it is still just a concept, but reality is just a concrete mold away. Remember that, kids.
Corsair Flash Survivor GTR keeps up enduring tradition of rugged survivalism
Was the torture-tested Survivor GT flash drive just not extreme enough for you? Time to slap an extra letter on the end of the model name and take the plunge with the Flash Survivor GTR from Corsair. As far as we can tell, it retains all the salient features of its predecessor -- meaning a CNC-milled aircraft-grade aluminum shell that can withstand ridiculous amounts of punishment -- while tweaking the aesthetics a bit and adding water resistance down to a 200-meter (656-foot) depth. With transfer rates of 34MBps and 28MBps for reads and writes, respectively, it's no slouch either, though that's to be expected from what will surely be a pricey accessory for your superhero utility belt. 32GB and 64GB versions are expected to ship soon.
GameStop listing shows SanDisk's Xbox 360-branded USB drives at outrageous prices
GameStop listings are about as accurate as a 14th century musket -- especially when it comes to release dates -- but that didn't keep news site GameSpot from capping the above screenshot. As you can no doubt read, the picture suggests that SanDisk will indeed release a specially-branded 8GB USB flash drive alongside the Xbox 360's USB storage update -- but at twice the normal price for a drive of that capacity. Our red hot rage at this injustice is tempered somewhat knowing there's no concrete proof the $40 figure is correct, but knowing SanDisk (and, frankly, Microsoft's own propensity for overpriced storage) we wouldn't be surprised to see several green thumbdrives pulling a premium at retail next week. Once more for the record: as long as it's larger than 1GB, smaller than 16GB and you format it using the Xbox 360 menus, any USB flash drive will do. Update: According to Major Nelson, it seems that USB flash drives larger than 16GB will work with the Xbox 360 update, but only 16GB of the drive's space will be available for the Xbox 360 to use. Thanks, willowtwf!
Victorinox Secure Pro USB drive is 'un-hackable,' can file your nails
This isn't the first USB drive / Swiss army knife we've seen from Victorinox, but the company's new Secure Pro drive is the first that is supposedly "un-hackable." To put that claim to the test, Victorinox actually offered a £100,000 prize to a team of "professional hackers" if they could crack the drive during the company's launch event -- they were unable to do so. That un-hackableness apparently comes primarily from the drive's combination of AES256 technology and fingerprint security, which is paired with (get this) a self-destruct mechanism that irrevocably burns the CPU and memory chip if there's any attempt to force the drive open. All that and a pair of scissors -- how can you go wrong? No word on a release over here just yet, but the drive is now available in the UK in capacities from 8GB to 32GB for between £50 and £180 (or about $75 to $270). [Thanks, Nikolas R]
AirStash brings the WiFi, neglects the storage, for a cent under $100
When we last saw the AirStash, it was keeping its mystique about it and refusing to disclose any salient details beyond the fact that it'll function as a wireless SD/SDHC card reader. Today, the fog of war is lifted with the news that the AirStash is now officially on sale for $99.99, and will come with a battery good for five hours of continuous data streaming. Marketed primarily at iPhone OS devices, it creates a wireless network that allows any WiFi and browser-equipped computer to access the storage cards within it. The UI is built around HTML5 and recharging is done via a USB connection, which also turns the AirStash into a simple SDHC card adapter when plugged in. Check out our hands-on with it from CES over here and look for a full review coming up shortly. We do care so very deeply our portable storage.
Corsair's 128GB Flash Voyager GTR thumb drive takes USB 2.0 to new heights
Who needs USB 3.0 adapters when you've got Corsair, right? In a feat of engineering that can only be described as earth-shattering (or supercalifragilistic, if you prefer), said outfit has somehow created a USB 2.0 flash drive that not only beats the competition in head-to-head speed tests, but obliterates it. The 128GB Flash Voyager GTR utilizes a fancy quad-channel architecture in order to deliver read speeds up to 34MB/sec and write speeds up to 28MB/sec, which is around six times faster than some mysterious competitor that the company pit its drive against. There's no mention of a price or release just yet, but at least you can put off the inevitable leap to SuperSpeed USB for a few more months, right?
DoD eases ban on thumb drive use for US military, our enemies rejoice
Betcha didn't know that USB flash drives weren't allowed in the US military. Or maybe you did -- you know, considering that one with Japan-US troop deployment maps went missing in mid-2008. Oops. At any rate, the Department of Defense has reportedly lifted said ban, but as with anything related to The Man, gobs of red tape will be involved. For starters, they won't be reintroduced "wholesale," instead being reserved for "mission essential applications." We're also told that the drives themselves must contain specific security features, and administrators will be able to track the use of 'em from the outset. For those unaware, the ban was originally put into place just over a year ago after virus-laden USB keys disrupted military networks, presumably flashing Blingee'd faces of Kim Jong-il onto CIA surveillance screens. Or not, but that'd be pretty hilarious.
Corsair's Padlock 2 offers 256-bit AES encryption inside a rugged body
Our British readers will already be painfully familiar with the comical propensity that government officials (even spies!) have for losing sensitive data while on the move. It might be an idea, therefore, to give your forgetful local representative a break with one of these new Corsair USB drives. The Padlock 2 features OS-agnostic password protection via the keypad you see above plus 256-bit encryption of the data stored on the flash inside. So even if someone is tenacious enough to pry the case open, he'll have a hard time getting anything useful out of it. Oh, and don't worry about forgetting the passcode, there's a procedure for wiping the drive clean and generating a new one. 8GB units are available immediately, and we've spotted them online priced at £46 in the UK and $59 in the good old US of A.
Kingston ships 256GB DataTraveler 310 USB flash drive to affluent Yanks
No matter how you slice it, having 256GB on your keychain is pretty rad. For those living in various regions of the world not named America, they've had access to the DataTraveler 300 for just under a year. Thankfully, the Kingston finally realized that Yanks love capaciousness as well, and the DataTraveler 310 is the solution that very sect has been longing for. Hailed as the first 256GB flash drive to ship in the States, the DT 310 is capable of holding up to 54 DVDs or 51,000 JPEGs of your undercover lover, and it'll function just fine with Windows, Linux and OS X-based systems. We're told that it'll sport data transfer rates of 25MB/sec (read) and 12MB/sec (write), but chances are you'll never get the opportunity to put those claims to the test. You know, given that astronomical $1,108 MSRP. %Gallery-85947%
