One of the greatest technology battles takes place on the ground of the memory market. Every manufacturer, from the leaders to the little players, is trying to develop devices which feature the highest storage capacity and the smallest size. One of the leaders, Germany's largest maker of USB storage products, has introduced a USB stick with up to eight gigabytes of storage which measures about twice the width of current USB sticks, though thinner and shorter. The USB stick resembles a lighter and comes in two models - with six and eight gigabytes.

Besides the high storage capacity, the stick doesn't sport innovative features as the Germans preferred to cover it in aluminum for a better protection and to add a widespread LED which lights up when the stick is in use. TrekStor CS-D USB stick can be plugged directly into a USB port or be connected to a USB port using a supplied cable.

"This is a massive amount of storage in very tiny, very portable package," said Hana Arad, president of Data Station, the U.S. marketing arm for TrekStor. Arad said that for its size - 1.25 inches wide, 0.375 inches thick, and 2.5 inches long, including cover -- the new CS-D is among the world's highest capacity stick storage device. "Our eight gigabyte stick weighs less than one ounce. It is a remarkable achievement," Arad added.

Rather than using flash memory, the CS-D utilizes a miniature one-inch hard drive that is shock-mounted using a proprietary design. "The CS-D must pass the same stringent manufacturing and quality control process as other TrekStor memory products," said Shimon Szmigiel, TrekStor CEO.

Available now at Amazon.com, J&R Music World, and RCS Experience, the CS-D comes in capacities of 6GB and 8GB at a suggested price of $139 and $179 respectively, and each is backed by a one-year warranty.