PNY's Latest Attache Optima USB Flash Drive: 8 GB, Capless Versatility

Although it's best-known as a manufacturer of various computer memory modules, the PNY company has also launched quite a comprehensive line-up of USB flash drives over time, rounded up under the Attache brand. And while most of these products sport a rather classic design (with a removable cap), that's not at all the case with the latest model coming from PNY, the Optima, which features a swiveling module, hidden within a tough external case.

However, the swiveling design is not necessarily the most important selling point this device has to offer, as the Optima provides relatively large storage capacities, of 4 GB and 8 GB, as well as some pretty good internal features. Thus, the flash drive provides read speeds of up to 25 MB/s and write speeds of up to 10 MB/s, as well as data transfer rates of up to 480 Mbps (it connects to a host computer via an USB 2.0 connection, after all).

As most other modern flash-based portable storage solutions available on the market, the Attache Optima comes pre-loaded with quite an interesting security system, namely an encrypted virtual disk. Thus, the Carry It Easy software will encrypt (128 bit AES encryption) and hide all the files in special, invisible partition. Whenever the user activates the program and keys-in the right password, the protected block will be activated as a disk shown on the Windows File Explorer that can be used as a normal physical disk.

Moreover, in the tradition of PNY Attache drives, the new Optima is also Vista ReadyBoost compatible, which means that it can help boost a computer's performances without forcing the user to purchase new and expensive hardware.

The 4GB drive is available at several retailers for around 29 pounds sterling (60 US dollars), while the 8GB drive sell for around 58 pounds sterling (120 US dollars), which are not exactly very small prices, but they're relatively normal, compared to other similar devices available on the market.

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