Tag: USB
USB Wristband makes fashion history
Although having a USB drive around is very handy, they’re a bit annoying to carry around. If you wear them on a lanyard, you look like you’ve just stepped out of a computer scientist’s convention, and they’re a bit too bulky to carry on a keychain.
The wristband pictured above, sold by tinyliving, remedies the problem somewhat, providing 512MB of storage wrapped around your wrist. It’s still not the coolest-looking bit of kit in the world though, giving me flashbacks to 2005’s Make Poverty FashionableHistory campaign. Still, if you want one they’re just $30 (£21) so we’re not exactly talking a massive outlay for this addition to your wardrobe.
Flash Drive Band (via LikeCool)
Related posts: Sandisk reveals one-button-backup USB flash drives | DiBcom claims world’s first HD DTT decoder in a USB key
CES 2009: Victorinox presents the Presentation Pro Swiss Army Knife
Many of the companies exhibiting at CES have been going for years, but one company is making its first trip – Switzerland’s Victorinox. The makers of the original Swiss Army Knife are exhibiting this – the “Presentation Pro”, which comes with a flip-out 32GB USB drive.
Your data will be protected by a fingerprint scanner, and there’s a laser pointer and bluetooth remote, as well as the standard knife, scissors and nail file. It’ll be shipping in May in the US, and it’ll cost $330 (£216). Just don’t take it on business trips abroad.
Victorinox (via Engadget)
For more CES coverage, you want to look at our mega-index-post.
LAST MINUTE GIFT IDEA: HANNspree's 8" SD8073 Digital Photo Frame
If you’re stuck for a Christmas present idea and didn’t already buy everyone you know in the whole world a digital photo frame for Christmas last year, how about a digital photo frame?
They’re relatively cheap, plus they come in a nice box so will feel like a substantial, heavy present. The SD8073 has what HANNspree calls a “high-resolution” 800×600 16:9 screen, although we’re not sure 800×600 has been considered high-res since the late-1980s. Still, it also supports MP3s and MP4 video playback…
DiBcom claims world's first HD DTT decoder in a USB key
DiBcom, maker of hardware for mobile TV, has claimed a world first with the introduction of its HD ready digital terrestrial decoder in a USB key device.
It’s likely that the “world’s first” claim is to do with the size of the device, because other manufacturers including Happauge and Elgato have already developed USB devices capable of receiving over-the-air HD broadcasts…
O2 launches cheapest PAYG mobile broadband
O2 has just joined 3 and T-Mobile in offering a pay-as-you-go mobile broadband package. It’ll sell you a USB dongle for just £30, and then you can choose from £2 a day with a 500MB data allowance, £7.50 a week with a 1GB allowance or £15 a month with a 3GB allowance. You’ll also get free Wi-Fi at hotspots operated by The Cloud.
This seems to currently be the cheapest on the market. It’s closest rival is 3’s ugly Huawei e220 modem, for £40. 3 charges £10 for 1GB, £15 for 3GB and £25 for 7GB, offering more data if you need it, at a slightly higher price.
This is a positive step for mobile broadband. For just £30, there’s now a very low barrier to entry, and with prices as cheap as £2 for 500MB, I’m seriously considering picking on of these dongles up and keeping it in my bag for ‘just in case’ occasions, like the train, or an airport. I’ll wait till I get to try the INQ1‘s dongle capabilities first, though.
Press Release (via O2 Press Centre Twitter)
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Keep your porn more hidden than ever with Lenovo's 128-bit encrypted ThinkPad USB Portable Secure HD
We’re sure there are plenty of uses for external hard drives other than using them as hiding places for pornography. Like, er, as a back up for treasured family photos. 320GB of treasured family photographs.
If you have need for a large chunk of external memory and need it safely locked away behind a 128-bit virtual wall (then hidden in the loft or underneath a floorboard until you’ve got the house to yourself), Lenovo has it covered with its ThinkPad USB Portable Secure Hard Drive – complete with onboard…
USB Endoscope – seeing things that should never be seen
Ever wanted to insert a camera into various orifices in your body? NOW YOU CAN with the USB Endoscope. Blowing every single other USB gadget I’ve ever seen out of the water, the USB Endoscope indulges your inner gut fetishist, while simultaneously allowing you to broadcast the images over the web with the greatest of ease. Hey, check out my urethra!
If you haven’t lost your lunch yet, then you’ll want to be buying one, right? It’s US$99 (about £67 in real money) and features 640×480 resolution, built in illumination, and – critically – a thickness of just 12mm. It’s just over 14cm long, so you won’t be able to push it in too far – promise me you won’t lose the damn thing in there, okay?
USB Endoscope
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Solid gold USB stick challenges your wallet
If I learnt anything from the second series of Heroes, it’s that people who turn stuff into gold tend to end up in an early grave. A cautionary tale for Super Talent, who make USB drives out of 18 carat solid gold. The Pico-C USB drive. Oh, they cost US$599, by the way. What do you get for that cash? 8GB of storage, 30MB/s transfer speeds (gold’s a very good conductor) and water resistance, in case you drop it in your $300 glass of champagne.
The company will also etch anything you like onto it for no extra cost, like a pretty zebra, your primary school nickname (big ears), or maybe even your company’s logo. The whole thing arrives in a black velvet jewelery box with a certificate of authenticity and a gold keychain. I’ll say again – US$599. That’s £380. Yowch. Grab one on eBay and spraypaint it gold instead.
Super Talent (via ShinyShiny)
Related posts: The Kirameki Pure Gold Keyboard – kill me now | Jewel encrusted, gold MacBook Air: Expensive but that’s Macs for you
Use your iPhone as a 3G modem… but maybe Stateside-only
It’s functionality that’s already available for a range of popular phones, including the N95, the Skypephone S2, and the forthcoming INQ Facebook phone, but it’s something that a lot of iPhone users would kill for – the ability to use the iPhone as a 3G modem.
The iPhone’s carrier in the USA, AT&T, announced last night that it would release some software to enable this functionality on the device. There has previously been two options for using your iPhone as a 3G modem, but one was removed from the App store and the other only works on jailbroken iPhones.
It’ll almost certainly cost users more money, and the connection won’t be fast enough to do much more than load a few websites, but it’s a nice feature addition to the device, for US users. I wonder if O2 has anything similar in the works over here.
AT&T (via Technologizer)
Related posts: Skypephone S2 offers this functionality out of the box | So will the INQ Facebook phone
LaCie intros "Internet Space" networked hard drive
I love the concept of accessing my home media files from a mobile device while on the road, but the downside (particularly in these eco-conscious, penny-watching times) is that the computer being accessed has to be powered on.
For those feeling a bit guilty about that, but still wanting to be able to view their hilarious home videos, or the latest Dido album, while out-and-about, here’s a nifty solution from LaCie.
The “Internet Space” is a network hard disk which can be accessed from the Internet even if all the home computers are switched off. Using LaCie’s HipServ technology, users can connect to the drive by visiting HomeLaCie.com and authorising themselves…
