Corsair Introduces Secure Flashes

16GB flash drives are already available on the market. But it seems that using more chips on the same package doesn't always translate into the same speed. Corsair has been having several problems with its newest 16GB drives, most of them related to the speed when transferring a high amount of data. I don't know if this problem affects other producers too, but as far as Corsair goes, they took the liberty of developing a radical approach to the problem.

Keeping the story simple, the company decided to split the product lineup into two: Flash Voyager will keep the blue color of the series and will remain the company's larger device and a new Flash Voyager GT will be built for speed and shall have a smaller capacity. That's pretty clever, but I would have liked better a 16GB device capable of 25-30MB/s of throughput. But I guess I'd prefer an SSD if the need for speed kicks in.

But the story is not over yet, because Corsair also introduced some new USB drives with built-in security features. Until now I've seen authentication codes and fingerprint reader but this is a new one. Basically, the flash drive integrates a small numeric keypad where you can introduce a six-digit code that will unlock the data found on the USB stick. The code protection seems to work flawlessly because this method can actually prevent the OS from seeing the stick. The flash will remain invisible until the correct code is introduced. Corsair claims that the device is not powered until the code is pressed so the SO won't be able to access it.