New 4GB Flash Drive Packs Quite a Punch

PCPro has a neat little tidbit about a new flash drive from Corsair. This little drive, only half the size of a lighter, packs a punch with 4GB of data storage and a very reasonable price tag (approx $32 USD). "When a Corsair rep turned up at Dennis Towers yesterday he told us he'd brought something pretty special to show off. We were therefore distinctly underwhelmed when he said it was ... a flash drive. But this flash drive needs seeing to be believed. It's been passed all round the office, where it's invariably been greeted with ooohs and aaaahs of grinning appreciation."

!news

[Slashdot Suxxors]

A tiny flash drive? Honestly?

Re:

[adonoman]

If this were 32 or 64 GB, then I'd be impressed, but come on - we already have 8GB Micro SD cards.

Re:!news

[Hijacked Public]

Yes, but what we don't have is 8GB Micro SD card vendors paying from front page Slashdot ads.

Re:!news

[el americano]

"We were therefore distinctly underwhelmed when he said it was...a flash drive."

Join the party, pal.

Re:!news

[larry bagina]

Hell, even those uncontacted natives in the remote amazon wilderness were unimpressed.

Re:!news

[Yvan256]

Well, they did throw spears at it.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

I think we should throw Spears back at them, Britney Spears.

Re:

[mrbluze]

It's been passed all round the office, where it's invariably been greeted with ooohs and aaaahs of grinning appreciation.

Anyone would have thought it was a picture of Natalie Portman in an unconventional pose. But a flash drive? These people need to get out more.

Re:

[PCMeister]

Aside from being unimpressed and trying to spear the helicopter, they were pissed off!

"You contacted us for this shit?!?!!? I knew that damn messenger pigeon worked for the overlords at OSTG!"

Re:!news

[chaosmind]

Yeah, this is a truly weak excuse for a story.

I just bought an 8 Gig drive for $39 USD, so the price isn't amazing. No MP3 player or slot for an SD card, nothing really technologically innovative...

We need an actual "products review" section (products.slashdot.org) in order to filter out such stories when you're not in a shopping mood.

Re:

[l00sr]

You're right. No wifi, less space than a Nomad. Lame.

Re:

[chartreuse]

Natalie Portman is dead. Netcraft confirms it.

The best part of the whole "article"

[jeffmeden]

This guy should NOT be a "components" ANYTHING with a world-class knucklehead observation like this:

Considering our components editor paid £50 for a single gigabyte of bulky storage just a couple of years ago, the inexorable march and miniaturisation of USB storage is plain to see.

Jeepers! Only a few years in order for storage technology to get smaller, more capacious, and cheaper! Oh what wonders the future has brought!

Who says /. is becoming just an advertising site?

[frovingslosh]

Ain't it great that we have /. to tell us about things like flash drives half the size of a butane lighter? Or that cost only a little more than twice what I've seen other small 4 Gig flash drives go for recently? Now I can be disenchanted with my 2 1/2 inch 4 Gig drive that I just paid $14 for, if only I had this new drive instead, it would be much easier to loose, and I really really need the extra physical space that my drive wastes.

Re:

[msauve]

...and only twice the price of a generic one from Microcenter [microcenter.com].

Re:

[josephpate]

And twice the size of my 8G thumbdrive. http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12248 [dealextreme.com]

Half the size of a lighter

[Hatta]

I'd rather have an 8 gig drive that's the full size of a lighter.

Re:

[Enoxice]

I assume it would also let you "burn" a dual-layer DVD?

[/badpun]

Re:

[Hijacked Public]

Buy 2 of these and tape them together?

Re:Half the size of a lighter

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

I have a lighter, the size of a flash drive. Maybe we can make these objects into standard units of measure!

Re:

[RManning]

I have a lighter, the size of a flash drive. Maybe we can make these objects into standard units of measure!

Sure: this flash drive measures 0.5 Imerial Lighers and holds 0.10 Libraries of Congress worth of data.

Re:

[Clay Pigeon -TPF-VS-]

Isnt LoC a unit of volume for asteroids and meteors, similar to, but larger than the volkswagen beetle?

Re:

[khellendros1984]

No, 1 Library of Congress is the equivalent amount of text data stored in the LoC (roughly 10 terabytes, apparently).

Re:

[dotancohen]

http://google.com/search?q=1cc%20in%20lighters [google.com]

1cc = 0.78 Bic lighters

Re:

[Garridan]

Impressively, your post shows up first on that google-search. Unfortunately, your cyclic reasoning will not work on me.

Re:

[dotancohen]

Google is quick.

Re:

[iminplaya]

How many Libraries of Congress can the lighter burn down?

Re:

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

As many as the Zionists decree. :-)

Re:

[iminplaya]

Ok...but no fair using gasoline or other "accelerants".

Hmmm

[zogger]

I wonder if they do have a lighter/flash drive combo unit? I know you can get a swiss army knife usb drive combo [swissknifeshop.com] now.

Re:

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

represented as square cubits of onionskin, double-spaced with a standard, IBM Selectric ball.

Here you go...

[msauve]

cheaper [microcenter.com] than the slashvertised 4 gb one, too.

Re:

[catch23]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220247 [newegg.com]

The that one from newegg is smaller and half the cost. I still love my dime sized PQI 2GB drive though, it fits in my wallet and doesn't cause it bulge.

Slashvertisement

[Anonymous Coward]

Can I be the first to say....So what?

Re:

[jones_supa]

No. :P

Nice ad

[DurendalMac]

So, does Slashdot get paid for this kind of advertisement?

Re:Nice ad

[CogDissident]

Lots of slashvertisements lately. Anyone know a good news site that covers the same geek range, but hasn't sold out this much?

+1 Insightful +1 Interesting

[xtracto]

I would post that as an "ask slashdot" unfortunately, it would never be accepted :(

Re:Nice ad

[snl2587]

And they've all been coming from ScuttleMonkey. ALL of them.

Re:

[pembo13]

Well, I am kinda actually interested, and happy this got posted.

Re:

[maxume]

There is an easier place to keep track of such things:

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=522&name=USB-Flash-Drives [newegg.com]

Newegg doesn't always have the best prices, and they aren't always pain free, but they are usually pain free and almost always have competitive prices.

There are plenty of 4 GB half sticks, especially if you don't care extra for Crucial:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2013240522%201309421175&bop=And&Pagesize=50 [newegg.com]

Some are downright ti

Re:

[Zillatron]

All technocrat [technocrat.net] really lacks is readers commenting. This may be a plus.

Re:

[cerberusss]

Very insightful -- not. I like this story, for one. I don't believe Taco selling out.

Re:

[Pulzar]

Very insightful -- not. I like this story, for one. I don't believe Taco selling out.

What do you like about it? It's not a particularly interesting article, and the product being showed off is not particularly advanced, cool, or really, not much of anything compared to other similar products. I mean, you can get 8GB flash drives that are smaller than that, and the size and capacity are the only thing going for this product.

Really, either the editor doesn't know what's top of the line these days, or Slashdot

Re:

[cerberusss]

I'm not up-to-speed on hardware, so I found it interesting to see. I would also like a story about a new Dell server offering or somesuch. I'm probably the only one that liked the sponsored Intel section from half a year ago.

Re:

[Pulzar]

I'm not up-to-speed on hardware, so I found it interesting to see.

But the editors should be up-to-speed. This way, they are misleading you into thinking that this is state-of-the-art technology, and are basically mis-informing you (or, trying to pitch an inferior product for other reasons).

I would also like a story about a new Dell server offering or somesuch.

I'm all for stories about new server offerings, but don't show me a server that's not at least one of faster, cheaper, more powerful, or cooler lookin

Re:

[chartreuse]

In the absence of actual novelty, a round-up or comparison of a bunch (>5) of drives could be postworthy.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

So, does Slashdot get paid for this kind of advertisement?

Maybe not, but I bet they get alot of free flash drives.

Re:

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

So, does Slashdot get paid for this kind of advertisement?

Well, they did serve ads both while you were posting and while we were reading your post.

um.

[Vanigard_Man]

"looks down at his lighter-sized, $35 8 gig flash drive* and this is big because?

Re:

[weirdcrashingnoises]

seriously, the size is not that amazing (i have 1 gig flash that is same size, i got it for free)

and neither is the price, just look around newegg if u catch a good deal u can get 4gig flash for 18~24 $USD (free shipping is hard to find but sometimes its there)

if it was capable of some insane amazing read/write speeds and still that size and still that cost... THEN i might be a little impressed. but it would have to be some really SWEET speeds... if it was great speeds with both tons of small files and a si

Re:

[Enderandrew]

I bought my Kingston 4 gig flash drive from them (Newegg.com) 6 months ago for $15 plus shipping, and I see it advertised all the time now for $15 with free shipping. So I'm not sure how a $32 version is Slashdot worthy in the least.

Who cares?

[HeavensBlade23]

That's not even the smallest flash drive I've seen. It looks bigger than a mini-kart. "Old thing comes in new, slightly smaller size, news at 11"

Sony's Micro Vault Tiny is smaller

[NixieBunny]

I keep one of these in my wallet. It's wafer-thin. Pretty much the size of a flash chip plus a USB connector wafer. They come in sizes up to 8GB.

Re:

[Slashdot Suxxors]

My only complaint with the Micro Vault is that it feels cheap. I picked one up last weekend though and it's a quality drive otherwise.

Re:

[Sta7ic]

Wafer thin? Well, maybe we can try plugging in ONE more of them...

Re:Sony's Micro Vault Tiny is smaller

[somersault]

Maitre D: And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin USB drive.

Mr Creosote: No.

Maitre D: Oh sir! It's only a tiny little thin one.

Mr Creosote: No. Fuck off - my wallet's full... [jingles]

Maitre D: Oh sir... it's only wafer thin.

Mr Creosote: Look - I couldn't fit in another thing. It's absolutely stuffed. Bugger off.

Maitre D: Oh sir, just... just one...

Mr Creosote: Oh all right. Just one.

Maitre D: Just the one, sir... voila... bon jour...

Re:

[fbjon]

Now here's an awesome WTF moment. I looked up the price of the 4GB version of that Sony Vault Tiny at a popular Finnish webstore, and found this in the description, translated:

"The product may contain security-undermining rootkit technology."

Re:

[atamido]

And lets not forget both the PQI Intelligent Drive i820 [pqi.com.tw] or the Kingmax Super Stick [engadget.com], both about the same size as the Sony. All three are much smaller than the article's.

With all due respect...

[JackAshley]

In their defense, it IS pretty small...

Re:

[navygeek]

Just like several of the editors'...well...hell, pick a body part - they're all fairly apt.

Maybe

[EkriirkE]

Maybe they left off a 0 on 40?

It's not that small or that big...

[argent]

You can get higher capacity drives than that in more compact packages. It's a little cheaper than the 4G version of this drive [sandisk.com] but the Sandisk product's got it beat to hell for coolness.

Re:

[emag]

The wife & me just got a couple of these 8G micro-SDHC [sandisk.com] cards. What's shown there is a reader with the micro SDHC card not inserted. It's actually pretty impressive (and comes with a lanyard & clip so you don't lose the reader).

Geez, my dick is smaller than THAT!

[elrous0]

Wait a minute. Did I just say that out loud?

Re:

[jcgf]

Erect or flaccid?

Re:

[elrous0]

First one, then the other.

I'm not angry like some people about this...

[Facegarden]

... but it certainly is rediculous... OMG a small flash drive! Umm.. Smaller flash drives of the same or larger capacity already exist... Why the hell is that on here? People complain about things being not news all the time if they're not interesting enough, but this literally is not news for nerds, in the sense that we are all already aware that small flash drives exist, it is not terribly cheap by comparison to other small flash drives, and it has no seemingly special features. It is also not "stuff that

Re:

[ditoa]

This is exactly what I am thinking. I have had a 4GB Sandisk pen drive which is only a little bit bigger for about a year now and it is under £20 now as well. The PCPro article is more of an advertisement. This does not belong on the Slashdot front page.

Re:

[el americano]

The unanimity of this point of view in the comments is heartening. If they have to push ads, they'll need to do better than this waste of space. Let's all recommend alternative products so that this slashvertizement backfires:

Sony Micro Vault Tiny
PQI i810/i815

Re:

[Facegarden]

Agreed. check out the Kingmax Super Stick http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000H6J8B4/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0 [amazon.com] that appears to be smaller, and a 4GB model is only $13! -Taylor

already something better!

[ILuvRamen]

Recently I bought a 2Gb flash drive that was just like that one except without the back on it. It was seriously about the size of a Cheez It (you know, the cheesey crackers). It was basically a millimeter tall and just had low profile gold contacts and that's it. It was seriously about 50% smaller than this one. The thing seemed so flimsy and small though that I was afraid larger objects in my pocket would crush it and I had heard they're flimsy on newegg. So I used it to even up a barter for a graphic

Who cares

[WindBourne]

I would much rather than a cheap 80 or 120G CF drive that I can pick up for $100. As it is, I bought a 32G for 140.

This is news?

[masumuraseito]

I bought an 8GB microSDHC card a couple of months ago that came with a Sandisk Mobile Mate MicroSD reader. Its dimensions are 3.2cm x 1.7cm x 0.7cm. It works great. I found the reader without a card on Amazon.com for under $2. I have no doubt that the reader could handle a 32gb microSD card with no issues.

So what does a media placement on slashdot go for?

[AmazingRuss]

I have an amazing computer that is battery powered and fits on your lap that I would like to promote.

lame...

[bsDaemon]

no wireless, less space than a nomad...lame.

seriously though, I thought this was going to be about a 4GB SSD hard disk for cheap, not yet-another-usb-key.

Wake me up when that happens.

Who the hell modded this story up?

[wolf12886]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2013240522+1309421175&name=4GB [newegg.com]

Dam, even a 15 second foray to Newegg turns up no fewer than 4 drives that are small, have a capacity of 4 gigs, and are well rated.

Whats next, "This man in a lab coat says ____'s "Male Enhancement" product really works"

Re:

[mattmcm]

"This man in a lab coat says ____'s "Male Enhancement" product really works"

Your ideas intrigue me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

How does it pack a punch?

[SeePage87]

When I read the headline I assumed they were going to explain how it was super fast as well. If the size was what makes it pack a punch then you can't tell us its size and say it packs a punch, it's redundant.

PQI connector

[Lord Byron II]

Thats a PQI-style connector on the end. The real PQI drives are a much better deal. Twice as much storage, same price, including shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141265 [newegg.com]

And as far as small goes, these are smaller (although less capacity):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141275 [newegg.com]

Can't fit them side by side

[lalena]

Tiny, yet like all Corsair Flash drives it is too wide to fit two of them side by side. Length doesn't matter. Width and height matter when you have multiple drives plugged in.

Amazing!

[Dan East]

I'm going to take some pictures of my 4 GB MicroSD card, so the Slashdot editors can be awed by it too.

SuperTalent Pico

[lesinator]

The SuperTalent Pico [supertalent.com] drives (in particular the C) are smaller. I recently purchased a 4gb model for half the price of these. You can also get the Pico with 8gb. I am not impressed with what Corsair is offering.

There's alot better out there.

[PHPNerd]

I found this one at Microcenter [microcenter.com] with 16GB for $60. They even have one with 32GB, but it's like $150. This is not news. Slashvertisement to say the least.

it ain't news, it's slashdot dot org

[poot_rootbeer]

"Considering our components editor paid £50 for a single gigabyte of bulky storage just a couple of years ago, the inexorable march and miniaturisation of USB storage is plain to see."

In this case, I'm sure "bulky" is defined as "almost LARGER than a disposable lighter".

I honestly don't see how people who measure their computer experience in decades -- you know, the entire Slashdot community -- would find any aspect of this adver-story to be interesting or noteworthy. The neo-est neophyte among us re

Re:

[ceoyoyo]

The grayest graybeards? I'm under 30 and my first hard drive was a cutting edge 40 MB. I certainly remember before that when a hard drive was something the size of a commercial clothes dryer and we thought dual 5 1/4" floppy drives were pretty cool.

Keychain MicroSD reader Flash drive

[Fritzed]

I have had one of these keychain microSD card readers [sourcingmap.com] for about a year now. There is nothing smaller, and you can always buy a newer bigger microSD card, almost always for cheaper than a flash drive.

Still not enough space for you? Get one of these microSD card holder keychain straps [strapya-world.com] and you just tripled your storage space.

(yawn) Call me in 2006

[WuphonsReach]

4GB flash drives (of any size) are OLD. The current "big" sizes are 8GB.

What I want is a Corsair Cruzer Titanium in a 16GB or 32GB size.

(I like my little 2GB Cruzer Titanium. It hangs off my keychain and is surviving very well on a day-to-day basis.)

Re:

[WuphonsReach]

(doh... which of course is make by SanDisk, not Corsair.)

And they've finally released the 8GB Cruzer Titanium [sandisk.com]... so now I'm tempted to upgrade.

Still doesn't change the fact that those little Cruzer Titanium's can take a hell of a beating. Nice size, nice weight.

Re:

[ForestGrump]

I have a 1 gig Sandisk Cruizer Plastic (non-titanium) from about 2 years ago. It's been thrown around and even through the washer/dryer - and it still works,

If you want cheap flash drives, Microcenter has bulk OEM ones for very cheap. I picked up a 4 gig drive for ~40 bucks when the avg for them was about 50-60. (about 7 months ago)

Grump

If it should pack a punch, then give me more

[mattb47]

This slashvertisement is awesome in its lameness.

How about a brass knuckles flash drive?

A flash drive with a built in stun gun?

Flash drive derringer?

Flash drive vibrator?

Any of those would "pack a punch."

This is a cute drive, but far from unique...

- Matt

What the hell?

[DavidTC]

I have a 4 gig flash drive that I bought that's hidden by two dimes laying on top of it and about the thickness of the same two dimes. I keep it in my wallet. It's called a Sony Micro Vault Tiny, google it if you want to see a picture.

And it didn't cost much more than this drive...six month ago. So I'm really wondering what the 'innovation' is.

On the hilarious side, the drive came with a sheet of paper as instructions which is literally 3 feet by 3 feet square unfolded. I always thought 'instruction manua

Just get a Micro SD Card

[sam0737]

which is thinner and smaller than a penny.
With increasingly more laptop equipped with SD Slot, such card can be used in Laptop, your Digital camera, your cell phone, your Wii...

A SD Micro->USB card reader isn't much bigger either.

you don't get out much, do you?

[nguy]

That flash drive is huge compared to some of the flash drives you can get now.

If you want something smaller than this, look for an SD card with a built in USB reader; and there are smaller ones still if you look.

Sell-out

[jgoemat]

Can we create a new category for thinly disguised advertisements like this? There's nothing special or newsworthy about this.

Re:more information

[Slashdot Suxxors]

See! Even the goatse trolls are less than enthusiastic. "Stories" like these bring everyone down.