Nov 16

‘Wink’ USB flash drive: perfect for hockey moms, lipstick-laden pigs

Posted in: flash drive, FlashDrive, Today's Chili, usb, waterproof

Active Media Products isn’t one to shy away from mildly ludicrous USB flash drive designs, but it may want to snag a lawyer on retainer for this one. Granted, there’s at least a sliver of a chance that Sarah Palin was actually notified that her image would be used to market AMP’s new “Wink” USB flash drive, but chances are she’s being rudely introduced to the sobering truth just as we are. Hailed as the planet’s smallest 16GB thumb drive, this waterproof slab of memory is also available in a few smaller sizes for those unconcerned with gaining political clout. It measures in at just 1.2- x 0.5- x 0.1-inches, or just marginally smaller than Little Diomede island (which you actually can see Russia from, amazingly enough). It’s available now to inspire and encourage starting at $7.95 (2GB), though that 16 gigger we mentioned earlier will set you back $37.95.

P.S. – We didn’t Photoshop this image, this is seriously Active Media Products’ pitch for this product.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

Gallery: ‘Wink’ USB flash drive: perfect for hockey moms, lipstick-laden pigs

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‘Wink’ USB flash drive: perfect for hockey moms, lipstick-laden pigs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 11

Imation Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive reviewed

Posted in: Features, hands-on, HandsOn, hard drive, HardDrive, review, Today's Chili, usb, Wireless

Imation was set to announce its first-ever Wireless USB hard drive a year ago, but it lost a dear friend shortly before it materialized and we’d heard nothing since then. Today Imation has returned — holding hands with its new partner, Staccato — to release the Pro WX 1.5 terabyte Wireless USB hard drive for both Windows and Mac. At $449.99, though, we thought to ourselves: does the Pro WX offer something extraordinary for the premium price? Or are you better off with a NAS device like Apple’s infamous Time Capsule? We ran some quick tests to find out — do read on for some juicy results.

Gallery: Imation Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive reviewed

Continue reading Imation Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive reviewed

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Imation Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 10

Yeti USB Condenser Mic gets certified by THX, fellow Yetis

Posted in: Music, sound, Today's Chili, usb

Blue Microphones, the same company responsible for the heralded Snowball, is today introducing the planet’s first THX certified microphone… or so it says. The hilariously named Yeti USB Condenser Mic ($149.99) touts condenser capsules in a triple array, four total patterns (omni, cardoid, stereo, bidirectional), a zero-latency headphone output (with volume control for direct monitoring), an adjustable microphone gain control and a mute button. As expected, the USB mic will play nice with both Mac and Windows-based systems, and if you’ve been looking high and low for a mic that gets an oh-so-coveted stamp of approval from Sir Abominable Snowman, you can finally call off the hunt next month.

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Yeti USB Condenser Mic gets certified by THX, fellow Yetis originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 08

Crapgadget: ‘All hope just might be lost’ edition

Posted in: Today's Chili, usb

Tell us, readers — haven’t you dreamt deeply about shoving your hand into a toasty, moist hamburger at work in order to warm your digits without cranking the thermostat and irritating the Antarctica-born top brass? And tell us, haven’t you always wanted a USB hub that doubled as an airplane toy? And honestly, don’t even try to act like you’ve never longed for a fine-toothed comb that would stick out from your MacBook Pro whilst waiting at an airport. Amazingly, all of these radical fantasies can now be your own personal reality, as an unknown amount of faceless companies have inexplicably produced these very items and listed them for sale. Sure, the recession may be “over,” but “hope” is still a long, long way from being found.

Read – iPhone chocolate case
Read – Crab earphones
Read – 4-port USB Aeroplane hub
Read – Hamburger USB warmer pad
Read – Monkey USB warmer pad
Read – Metallic car USB flash drive
Read – Fine-toothed comb USB drive

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Crapgadget: ‘All hope just might be lost’ edition originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 04

Super Talent introduces world’s first USB 3.0 flash drive

Posted in: flash drive, FlashDrive, SSD, Today's Chili, usb, usb 3.0, Usb3.0

USB 3.0 devices are just now starting to peek their heads out at retail, and it looks as if Super Talent is doing its darnedest to not be left out of the spotlight. Said company has just introduced what looks to be the planet’s first USB 3.0 thumb drive (or “RAIDDrive,” as it were), promising transfer rates of up to 320MB/sec when relying on a separate UAS Protocol driver with a USB 3.0 port. If you’re using a stock USB 3.0 socket, you’ll see speeds as high as 200MB/sec, while those bold enough to slam this into a USB 2.0 connector will see it slow to USB 2.0 speeds. There’s no mention of a price or release date, but it should ship relatively soon in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB flavors.

[Via Hot Hardware]

Gallery: Super Talent introduces world’s first USB 3.0 flash drive

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Super Talent introduces world’s first USB 3.0 flash drive originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 04

NVIDIA confirms Intel chipsets won’t support USB 3.0 until 2011

Posted in: delay, intel, NVIDIA, Today's Chili, usb, usb 3.0, Usb3.0

What was once an unverifiable rumor from an anonymous source has now, sadly, become a confirmed fact. Intel won’t be integrating USB 3.0 support into its chipsets until at least 2011. Motherboard makers such as ASUS can still opt to add discrete 3.0 controllers at an extra cost, but Intel — already accused of dragging its heels on the standard’s development — won’t be. NVIDIA spokesman Brian Burke has expressed, in no uncertain terms, his company’s disappointment with Intel, while also claiming that chipsets by NVIDIA are more feature-rich and just plain better than Intel’s own efforts. We’ll add this to our ever-growing collection of things NVIDIA doesn’t like about Intel, but we also hope that the immature outburst doesn’t obscure the real issue. NVIDIA is correct in noting that Intel needs competition in the chipset space, and the new interconnect’s dependence on Intel’s whims demonstrates the market-altering powers that reside in Santa Clara, CA. Unless another chipmaker gets serious about competing with Intel, we could face plenty more of these seemingly arbitrary delays in tech rollouts.

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NVIDIA confirms Intel chipsets won’t support USB 3.0 until 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 04

Beatles Electronic Catalog Comes to Apple–Sort of

Posted in: Apple, MP3 Digital Audio, Today's Chili, usb

beatlesusbapple.jpg

Looking for an adorable and easily stealable way to consolidate the entire Beatles catalog? Have no fear, EMI has your back. The record conglomerate may still be at odds with iTunes when it comes a digital release for the fab four, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t, um, more creative distribution methods. Take this new Apple-shaped USB key from the company, which features 14 Beatles albums, 13 mini-documentaries, and all of the requisite art work.

The USB Apple is being released worldwide in a limited edition of 30,000 on December 7th (December 8th in North America). The 16GB Apple offers songs in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24 bit and MP3 320 Kbps. This key will set you back $279.99. You can pre-order it now from the official Beatles store.

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Nov 04

IronKey ships uber-secure D200 USB flash drives

Posted in: flash drive, FlashDrive, security, Today's Chili, usb, usb drive, UsbDrive

IronKey has never been one to shy away from sensational claims, but for whatever reason, it’s announcing its newest secure drive in a rather low-key fashion. Or, somewhat so. The D200 range of USB flash drives are said to be more manageable and secure than ever, offering up the peace of mind necessary in government and enterprise scenarios. The new devices include policy enforcement, usability and field-maintenance capabilities, a dual-channel architecture for rapid transfers, the ability to double as an authentication token and a self-defense mechanism designed to resist “physical, malware and password attacks.” It’s available in 1/2/4/8/16GB capacities and should withstand most encounters with water and shock, though it’s on you to dig up the presumably lofty MSRPs.

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IronKey ships uber-secure D200 USB flash drives originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 31

USB 3.0 and SATA 6G put to good use: benchmarks

Posted in: ASUS, benchmark, controller, Today's Chili, usb, usb 3.0, Usb3.0

The fine folks at both HotHardware and PC Perspective have run the new ASUS P7P55D-E Premium motherboard through its paces, which has the particular distinction of handling both USB 3.0 and the up-and-coming SATA 6G through controllers by NEC and Marvell, respectively. Lucky for us, both sites’ tests came to similar conclusions. The Seagate Barracuda XT SATA 6G drive has almost zero improvement over SATA 3G, other than in some burst speeds due to the fancy cache on the 6G — the bottleneck here is the drive, not the controller. Meanwhile, USB 3.0 has speeds that are roughly 5 to 6 times faster than USB 2.0 with the same drive, a huge win for fans of external storage the world over. Perhaps even better news is that an ASUS US36 controller card with USB 3.0 and SATA 6G support is a mere $30, so this stuff is already basically within reach to the average desktop user.

Read – HotHardware
Read – PC Perspective

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USB 3.0 and SATA 6G put to good use: benchmarks originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oct 26

Kids Guard USB stick is guaranteed to frustrate, encourage circumvention

Posted in: security, Today's Chili, usb, usb drive, UsbDrive

The concept here is far from new, but that doesn’t mean that the latest iteration isn’t way more frustrating. For kids just looking to “discover themselves” somewhere on the world wide web, the Kids Online Guard USB Stick is a nightmare of the worst kind. Designed to keep your offspring away from files, websites and folders that you deem inappropriate, it seems to work by triggering limits when plugged in, and when unplugged, the whole PC likely locks everyone out. Of course, we’re guessing that this is just the thing to train your kid to become the planet’s next great circumventer / hacker, so if viewing this as a “training tool” makes you sleep easier, you can get one headed your way for $21.69.

[Thanks, Frank]

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Kids Guard USB stick is guaranteed to frustrate, encourage circumvention originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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