14 DAY TRIAL // With Kingston launching a password-protected flash drive, Active Media Products decided to make advances of its own, only in a different area, namely that of miniaturization. The company claims that its newly launched The Wink is currently the smallest 16GB USB flash drive in existence. Measuring a measly 1.2 x 0.5 x 0.1 inches, the unit is just barely as large as dice, while weighing no more than 1/20th of an ounce.
Truly, incredibly small, there is a high chance that, if misplaced, The Wink will never be found. Resembling Verbatim's Tough-n-Tiny, the gadget is smaller than most trinkets, most likely to be mistaken for a piece of plastic than anything else. Actually, it seems that the size of the USB port is the only reason why The Wink wasn't made any smaller. The storage unit goes perfectly with a keychain ad the high chance for it to go unnoticed almost makes up for the lack of password protection.
One could ask, though, why such a reduction in size was necessary, since the actual size of USB flash drives in general isn't such a big issue, as long as the drive actually fits inside a pocket. The ridiculously small dimensions of The Wink might turn out to be more of a hassle than an advantage, especially to absent-minded people. There are high odds for it to be lost forever just by dropping it on the street, since it is small enough to escape notice and light enough to make virtually no noise on impact, therefore buyers should be sure to tie a hefty chain or string to it.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that the drive did practically set a record for the smallest USB flash drive out there. The solid piece of plastic is waterproof, shock resistant and quite sturdy thanks to it being coated in a high-impact polymer outer shell. Not only that, but it is able to pack up to a surprising 16GB of information, the equivalent of about 5,000 MP3 audio files. In addition, the product has a data-retention capability of ten years.
The Wink comes with 2, 4, 8 and 16GB capacities, is Windows 7- and OS X-compatible and the four models are priced at US$7.95, US$10.95, US$19.95 and US$37.95, respectively, with the keychain and keyring included. The purchase may be made online, here.