SanDisk launches its smallest USB flash drive in North America
SanDisk on Tuesday unveiled what it calls its smallest USB flash drive in North America. The drive weighs about the same as a penny and is the size of a paper clip.
The device, dubbed the SanDisk Cruzer Blade, is designed to be carried on a key chain or a mobile phone dongle. The idea is that this little gizmo would store your song, pictures and video as you move between devices. The capacities range from 2GB to 16GB. This drive, will cost you $14.99 to $77.99, may fall into the small-and-easy-to-lose category.
Will this drive be a hit with consumers? The drive caught my eye because I'm increasingly interested and storing media for use on various devices, notably what is likely to be a new smartphone. SD cards are nice, but are likely to be lost too easily. Flash is the enabler of everything from e-readers to tablets to smartphones. It only makes sense to have some sort of easy way to carry your media between devices. Perhaps the cloud winds up being an easier choice, but a Flash drive can do the trick too.
SanDisk CEO Eli Harari said last week on the company's earnings conference call that flash is replacing paper in many respects. Flash is the storage media of choice for most devices. "We never think about flash as replacing paper but that's basically what is happening," said Harari.
With that view SanDisk's new drive is a bit like a paper-clip sized briefcase.
Source: SanDisk statement