The Infinite USB

Everything comes with a USB connection now. Chargers, external storage, some cell phones, the problem isn’t what has a USB connectivity but how to connect them.  Computers, especially laoptops (which travel well along with many USB desiring devices) just don’t come with all the USB ports that are needed.  Fear no more.

A design student in China has shown the world a miracle in the form of the Infinite USB plugs. They’re basically plugs the connect to any USB port that have a second USB port on there back, so you can stack plugs one on top of the other.  Convenient, but overkill is still a possibility.  Computers only have so much power coursing through them at one time.

Safety First

Flash drives are meant to be portable. It also makes them very misplaceable.

Introducing the flash drive lock. Fitting any basic flash drive like a normal cap over the USB end the lock comes with a set of three number turns to code your self. In red or silver they will match almost any preexisting drive you may already be using. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to protecting your files.

Everything Transformed

The newest style taking over the gadget market is actually a resurrected retro style of some popularity. Yes, the transformer is back, and more useful than ever.

To start with there’s the transforming Ravage flash drive. How cool is that? It’s not a mini car but a real gadget that is “more than meets the eye”. The flash drive begins in a semi normal flash drive rectangle shape and becomes a wild cat. It’s expensive ($43) for a mere 2 GB but hey it’s a transformer. The drive will be released in September.

Also on the market is the transforming mouse. That’s right, if you still use a mouse rather than a track pad your can choose from two different dinosaur designs and bring even more fun to your desk. $59.99 for either one, again they ship in September.

Finally the transforming USB hub (this one transforms twice) cannot only hold up to four transforming USB flash drives but can transform itself. Whether you want it to look like a real transformer robot or sit in disguise as a laptop this hub takes you back to the actual toys. It doesn’t fold up into its own working gadget but to a fake gadget, just like the toys do, and attempts to disguise the working hub. It also looks like it can play mini cassette tapes, weird. Comes out in September.

Being Skinny

Because USB flash drives weren’t easy enough to carry around in the first place Top tech has designed a new travel style drive for everyone.

Slim Data is a USB drive as a card.  That’s right, it’s like having another credit card, except this one folds in half to reveal the USB and attach to any Windows, Mac, or Linux machine.  There are five colors at 4GB and $25 each (not a huge price difference compared to your average flash drive.

Flash drives are all travel size, but if you’re walking around with a wallet in your pocket anyway save your other pocket space and add your USB drive to your already full pocket.  Just hope that card doesn’t get lost amongst the other hundreds or cards already bursting in your wallet.

Building Additions

We all love USB drives, USB cords, USB anything, but most computers don’t come with quite enough USB ports for anyone’s taste.  That’s why the Lego themed USB hub sounds like such an excellent idea.

Lego remains a popular design theme in the world of gadgetry (whether or not the devices are actually branded by Lego).  This USB hub would look no less attractive than any of the other brick related gadgets on the market today.  It doesn’t appear to be available in America just yet, but I’m sure it’s on its way.  It’s popularity and necessity just doesn’t com into question, who doesn’t love Legos?

Mini and Mighty

USB drives were small enough before, but hey, gadgets are always evolving at a time where size still does matter.

Eagletec has developed pretty much the smallest flash drive yet at 19×15x16 mm.  It still holds between 4 and 8 GB (depending on how much cash you’re willing to put down).  The size is smaller but storage and pricing are still about on par with many other flash drives on the market today.

I’m definitely an advocate of the flash drive, I’m an advocate for multiple flash drives, but in spending so much time depending on one I know what problems arise when a normal flash drive is misplaces.  I don’t know how I feel about shrinking my most misplaces gadget any further, even if the Eagletec Nano does come with a lanyard.

Store Better than Before

So we know I love the flash drive, so it’s no surprise I’m intrigued by Leyio’s new personal file sharing device.

It’s a flash drive taken to the next level.  It stores files, can take files off of other flash drives (it has its own USB port built right in) .  It’s secured with a finger print scanner and it can wirelessly transfer data to your computer or another Leyios.

It comes with a digital screen, but doesn’t use wi fi.  Wireless connections come through ultrawide-band radio, which means to wirelessly transfer to a computer you’ll need to buy a little extra.  It’s due out this month

Simple Storage

With applications like Apple’s Time Machine automatic and personalized computer back up is the new trend in safe storage.  But what about everyone who bought external hard drives before the new boom?  Shouldn’t they be rewarded for their foresight? For their understanding that backing up your files, especially before computers were as reliable as they are now, was a necessity and not just a commodity?

Well, Clickfree has decided to reward those intelligent few with the Transformer Cable.  All you have to do is plug the transformer cable into the USB slot on your computer, plug the USB hard drive into the cable, and your files will automatically back up.  How simple!  The only question is, with hard drive prices dropping every day, how do you feel about the $59 price tag?

All About the Money

We all know change is compact, but we also know how easily it can disappear from even the deepest pockets.  That’s why Lacie’s new CurrenKey coin shaped flash drive is such a mixed blessing.

All portable flash drives are relatively travel sized and the CurrenKey even more so.  It’s portable, looks cool, comes in bronze or silver, 4 GB or 8 GB respectively.  Priced at $20 and $30 it’s a nice price for that storage capacity.  I still recommend caution, you don’t want to go handing out your work files as a tip, but hey, a flash drive like this can make anyone feel like a secret agent.

Small and Mighty

This is an ode to the USB flash drive.  They’ve been around for awhile but it seems (though they are popular) not as many people have latched on to them as I would have expected.  In my opinion anyone with a computer should also own a USB flash drive.

For those unsure of exactly what a USB flash drive is good for, in short, they are good for storage.  You basically plug the thing into the USB port on your computer and, as if you inserted a blank disk, you can then drag files onto the drive.

Storage is important because computers, despite their increased reliability over time, still crash.  The smartest thing you can do is back up your files by saving them not only on your computers hard drive but in another place as well.  Besides the USB there are also the options of an external hard drive or a disk.

I find that I would rather save my blank CD’s and DVD’s for music and class projects (that I must often hand in on a disk) and an external hard drive is just not in my personal price range at the moment (though depending on storage capacity flash drives and hard drives can have similar costs).  Beyond that a USB drive is just much more travel friendly for my convenience, an external hard drive is much more difficult to drag back and forth from school.

USB’s come in a number of sizes over a very broad price range, from a few hundred megabytes to a lot of gigabytes.  Depending on how much information you feel you need to backup (or how much cash you have handy) that determines how much storage space you are going to purchase.  I find it is only necessary to backup my work, writing files and the like, so I have yet to reach out of the two gigabyte range.

It’s a simple relatively well priced solution to the possibility of a computer induced mental break down.  Even with the newest and most reliable computer on your desk often it’s better to be safe than sorry.