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Topic: Hardware

SanDisk launches its smallest USB flash drive in North America

Summary: SanDisk unveiled what it calls the smallest USB flash drive in North America. The drive weighs about the same as a penny and is the size of a paper clip.

Larry Dignan

By for Between the Lines |

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.

Note: The Cruzer Blade is SanDisk’s smallest USB flash drive – and it is now available in North America – but the company is not laying claim to it being the smallest overall drive in North America.

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

Topic: Hardware

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24 comments
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  • The smallest?

    What are the dimensions? I can't find them. Is it really smaller than the Super Talent Pico C? The latter is about the size of a piece of Trident sugarless gum.
    bmgoodman
    Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    Call me when they're as small as the new tiny Bluetooth adapters.
    CobraA1
    Reply Vote

    • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

      @CobraA1

      Those bluetooth adapters are meant to be permanent fixtures on a computer, primarily for a laptop in which you don't want a permanent two inch protrusion that can easily snap off if you make a bad move. A flash drive is meant to carry from one computer to another. I rarely have a flash drive plugged in for more than 10 minutes at a time. So as long as it's light, size is not nearly as important.

      Now I can see the advantage of having an USB SD card reader that protrudes about as far as those bluetooth adapters, because you would want to keep that in permanently, and it's only the tip of the card that needs to be read anyway. But I doubt those will be made since every new laptop has a reader built in.
      Michael Kelly
      Reply Vote

    • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

      @CobraA1
      i believe we will see this as storage device for camers next year with adaptor
      boiler bob
      bobsub
      Reply Vote

  • How small do we really need them?

    Ok they make them small but come on people just want a USB drive to save and backup, and move data off their computer. So if they make it so small people won't be able to put and take them out of their computers companies should be making their USB drives more realiable and larger sizes. Size does not matter.
    rupaa62
    Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    The announcement is just saying that they are being released in the US and Canada now. They have been available outside them for a while now.
    germ161
    Reply Vote

  • Replace paper? Even TOILET PAPER?

    Aw, replacing paper is a nice thought, but I've got paper from the 1940s and 50s that still works perfectly and has lost very little information(turning yellow, a few mouse nibbles). I'm not sure flash drives will hold up that long in a box under a bed.
    Scrod
    Reply Vote

    • LOL

      @Scrod
      Nice one, Scrod! Yep, ya can't beat the good 'ol Mk1 paper. And you don't need a computer to see what's on it, either... ;)
      naibeeru
      Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    Call me when they're smaller than a microSD card with one of those tiny microSD-to-USB adaptors.
    joe@...
    Reply Vote

  • Too late Verbatium's is the smallest

    Tuff&Tiny - 1/2 wide, 1/16 thick 1 long..available at newegg.com - sandisk has to loose the USB square!
    amasys
    Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    even on their website there's not a single reference image. If you're going to compare it to a penny, set it next to a penny!
    bc3tech
    Reply Vote

    • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

      @brandon@...<br>VERY TRUE ...<br>I like the analogy reference idea. They do need a standard size paper clip in the picture.
      cpuguy1
      Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    Smaller convenience or simply easier to lose. I need a lager size drive. AS fro a replacement to paper, please; how are you going t to read your document off a computer if one is not available.
    Scatcatpdx
    Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    We've had those little red Cruzer Blades down here in Australia for about a year. I found they're just too small and easy to lose, even on a lanyard. They ended up on sale at Officeworks/Stapels.
    Randall679
    Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    If you want the size, look at the picture above. Note the USB plug which seems to be about its normal size (if not, scale it to size) and you'll see how big it is. It's larger than a penny but they only said that it's as light as a penny, not smaller. It's also the size of a rather large paper clip, larger than most and smaller than the largest, so I can't dispute their size claims but who cares? The smaller they are, the easier to lose, and this from someone who once lost a cell phone.
    dickmac-zdnet@...
    Reply Vote

  • What about the Lexar Echo ZE

    I keep an 8g Lexar Echo ZE in the front usb port of my Kenwood DPX503 car stereo without any fear that I'll bump it and break it off. I could also plug it into my laptop and then stuff my laptop into my backpack without damaging the flash drive.
    ronfritz
    Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    These guys will publish anything that people push at them. It's quite obvious the Sandisk is not the smallest because it's wider than the usb socket. I can buy Verbatim flash drives in Australia that are only the width of the usb socket and about an inch long. You also get the loop to put them on the keyring. Prices are cheaper too. lol
    bd1235
    Reply Vote

  • RE: SanDisk: We have the smallest USB flash drive

    "Smallest doesn't mean is good! The disadvantage are few. It is very easy to get lost, stolen and fiddly. A person which has poor eye sight would have problem connect it to the usb socket. Searching inside the pockets/bags among other things will be frustated.
    pamandua2@...
    Reply Vote

  • 32GB Echo ZE Backup Drive looks a whole lot smaller...

    I saw ronfritz's comment and looked up the Lexar 32GB Echo ZE Backup Drive... It looks a lot smaller, and looks like something I would love to keep plugged into my laptop/desktop. I'd have no worries about nocking it and breaking it or my computer.

    http://www.lexar.com/echo/echo_ze.html

    But I really would like to hear about a flash drive's ability to keep its data for as long as a piece of paper... Call me when you hear about one :-) I don't want my beautiful nature photographs to disappear for ever when so many people enjoy them.
    AZDnetSubscriber
    Reply Vote

  • KingMax Superstick mini?

    I have a 16GB Cruzer (A$42.00) which is small but not nearly as small as my Kingmax Super Stick Mini, which I carry in my wallet. Both are noteworthy but the Cruzer Blade looks bulky compared with the svelte dimensions of the Kingmax.
    DOSlover
    Reply Vote
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