Hasta La Gadget!

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.

Continue reading A-DATA’s N909 thumb drive taps into eSATA for extra oomph

A-DATA’s N909 thumb drive taps into eSATA for extra oomph originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Continue reading LaCie’s XtremKey: it’s pretty rugged, we guess

LaCie’s XtremKey: it’s pretty rugged, we guess originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Concrete USB drives are worth their weight in gigabytes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

GameStop listing shows SanDisk’s Xbox 360-branded USB drives at outrageous prices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

AirStash brings the WiFi, neglects the storage, for a cent under $100 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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