14 DAY TRIAL // Pretec launched its highest storage capacity USB Flash stick, which comes at 16GB, and said that it's the world's greatest. But, unfortunately, the company is wrong, as another manufacturer, the Taiwanese PQI, has already retailed a USB flash drive - U510 - which has the same size as a credit card (85mm x 54mm x 3mm) and also features 16B of capacity.
Moreover, PQI's Flash drive has been showcased back in May and, if I'm not mistaking, it is already September.
However, Pretec's latest I-Disk II is 'really' able to store the amount of data found on 23 CDs or three DVDs, meaning that you can transfer no less than 10,000 digital images or 4000 MP3 music files at a speed of 166x, a data transfer rate of about 25 MB/s. "Pretec will be offering the drive at the end of this month in Europe for about $640. The 8 GB model will be sold for $205. And if the mainstream 2 GB models are enough, than you can get such Flash sticks for around $40, according to data provided by Pricegrabber," reports TG Daily.
PQI's Flash drive, though, even if is not the smallest USB flash-drive, as Kingmax has recently launched the Super Stick, comes cheaper than Pretec's miniature drive, at about $500.
But let's see what happens at IFA, the largest European consumer electronics fair, where Toshiba launched new USB drives named TransMemory, bringing the company's U3 smart technology to the USB portfolio.
When you hook it up with the PC, the U3 smart drive will automatically launch the U3 Launchpad, which 'launches' a list of programs to choose from and files to work with. U-Safe password-based security protection software is also built into the U3 Launchpad and can be activated when you want. "Toshiba is a recognized global leader in consumer electronics," said Esther Kruijver, VP Platform for U3. "Their support for the U3 platform underscores the growing popularity of U3 smart drives among consumers worldwide. IFA Berlin is the ideal venue to introduce Toshiba's exciting new family of U3 smart drives."