Supertalent Pico Mini Memory Card Review

This tiny and extremely light memory card comes in various sizes according to your storage needs; 4BG, 8GB and 16GB, to be exact. It also comes in very bright colours which really make it stand out from most other memory cards on the market.

Design

The Pico Mini A 4GB memory card weights in at under a couple of grams and is so small and light that the little keychain which it comes attached will come in very handy in order for you avoid losing it or seeing it blown away on a strong gust of wind. It is shock proof and water resistant, so if you can avoid losing it then it should solve your portable storage needs for some time to come

Notable Specifications

It reads at speeds up to 30MB per second and while it is principally a USB 2.0 drive it also have compatibility with 1.1 inputs.

Summary

This is a memory card which provides good storage capability with a pretty nifty speed and all the compatibility you would expect. The areas in which the Pico Mini A 4GN memory card comes into its own are size, design and price. It is surely the easiest memory card to carry about with you and quite possibly the most interestingly coloured as well. Online prices for all three capacities are excellent. This would most likely appeal to some who uses their memory card unexpectedly and often at short notice. I can imagine someone out jogging with this little storage device or perhaps tucking it discreetly into a pocket while going on a romantic dinner in which they promised that there would be no work interruptions. It could be a good “just in case something pops up” option.

The different models are available at memory card zoo with the 4gb version costing a very reasonable £9.45.

Yuuwaa USB Flash Drive Review

If you think back a few years you would probably remember USB storage as a new fangled technology that was fairly expensive that provided a limited amount of storage. Thankfully those days are dead and buried and affordable mass USB storage is now readily available. The problem you have now though is that the variety of USB memory to choose from is vast, which is why you can get quality at an amazing price and sometimes a few added extras.

Yuuwaa description

The YuuWaa Go and Plus USB flash drive is a memory stick with a difference; it offers data storage, efficient backup, online space for files and a way to share your files. YuuWaa combines a password protected USB stick with online storage; this comes in a number of options. The Yuuwaa Go comes with a 4 GB memory stick with 20 GB of free storage and the plus version offers double of both. The online storage solution is free for six months and then if you like the product can be upgraded to another six months, a year or even longer (the longer you opt for the smaller the annual fee).

 

In the box

The Yuu Waa Go is an attractive blue and the Plus comes in aluminium colour. You get a variety of things in the box including a lanyard to secure your Yuuwaa from getting lost. You also get a start up guide and a registration card for your stick and your online storage. The first thing you will encounter when you plug in your Yuuwaa USB stick for the first time is a simple sign up form where you have to enter your preferred email address, a password and your registration number.

Yuuwaa in action

On subsequent connections a small icon will appear in your system tray.  This can be used to backup your memory stick to your online storage space, to access files on the move or to restore lost files if you lose your Yuuwaa. You can also schedule a handy backup to run at an interval of your choosing (either 1, 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes) which means your files are safe should your computer or memory stick crashes or fails. Another nifty feature is that you can choose to share files or selected folders with approved friends or family by adding them to a simple to use contacts list. You can choose to add a personalised message before files are shared too – ideal for work, life or play.

The Yuuwaa flash drive will work on any computer running windows XP (with service pack2) onwards so long as it has a USB  2.0 port free. They have also launched a beta service for Mac’s with OS X or newer.

Summary

If you want an inexpensive way to keep your files safe both on your USB stick and backed up online then the YuuWaa is a pretty good product. It looks nice, works well and is pretty robust. Keep an eye on the lid though as this does not attach to the lanyard. The Yuuwaa go retails at £19.99 and the plus at £29.99. Both are available from pc world with free delivery.

Yuuwaa demo video

Swiss Army USB drive is hack-proof

The Swiss army knife is a highly regarded all-round implement and manufacturer Victorinox has produced knives that also have integrated USB storage in the past, but now a new edition claims to be completely safe from prying eyes.

Victorinox proved that it was not joking about the security systems in place within the Knife/Drive by hiring a team of alleged computer hackers to attempt to break into the device during a promotional demonstration. The firm was offering £100,000 of its own money to the team if they could succeed. They didn’t and the reputation of the device remained intact.

According to Victorinox, the USB memory Knife relies on multiple layers of security to keep hackers out, including fingerprinting and advanced encryption. The device will also self-destruct if anyone attempts to illicitly access its storage, rendering it inoperable as the processing chip and the memory is fried.

As well as a USB memory stick, the knife has a nail file and a small pair of retractable scissors and it can be attached to a key ring to make sure that it stays with you at all times. All of the knife’s functions flip out in the standard manner and the whole thing is finished in a pleasingly see-through red.

Victorinox has released the ultimate gadget-lovers Swiss army knife in the UK with a variety of storage capacities. The 8GB drive will set you back about £50, but if you want the top of the line 32GB drive, you will need to find £180.

Western Digital My Passport 320GB 2.5″ External Hard Drive Review

External hard drives are becoming less and less expensive while offering even more storage capacity. One prime example of this is the 320GB 2.5” external hard drive from Western Digital. It’s half price in the PC World sale so you can pick one up for £75 at the moment – that’s a lot of storage for your money.

Styled like a wallet the Western Digital My Passport external hard drive looks good, as well, and is available in a choice of black, red, blue, or white to match your mood (or, indeed, your computer room interior design).

Compatible with both PC and Mac computers, the 320GB of storage is enough to hold around 100,000 photos, 80,000 mp3 music files, 320 hours of digital video, 53 hours of DVD, of 13 hours of HD footage. Whatever your multimedia poison there’s a lot of room to fill up before you need another.

128 bit encryption ensures it’s perfectly safe to take your drive with you and it has synchronisation software so that you can make changes to its contents on any computer and then synchronise those changes with your home or office based computer.

• 320GB of storage capacity
• 2.5″ Form Factor External hard drive
• Stores up to 80,000 MP3 songs
• or up to 455 movies
• Smart and energy efficient
• PC and Mac compatible
• Backup all your important files
• 480 mbits/sec Internal Transfer Rate

Kingston DataTraveler Mini Slim Flash Drive

Kingston has certainly been batting out the PC storage devices lately and have a seriously extensive range of flash drives, portable hard drives, and stone tablets (probably). The DataTraveler Mini Slim is not only vying to be the flash drive that incorporates the most variants of the word small as possible, but it’s actually living up (or down) to its name.

Roughly one and a half inches long, they are minute and you’ll have to be careful not to lose it in the USB plug on your computer never mind in your pocket. They’re available in 2GB and 4GB models for around £5 and £8 respectively. Colour choices are pink, blue, and black

It can’t feasibly be possible to make flash drives very much smaller than this, although I know that marginally smaller devices do exist, because if they were any smaller they would be useless. If you’re into modding everything you ever put near your PC then you’re pretty much guaranteed to be able to slip this into any object and make your very own unique USB flash drive.

With up to 4GB of storage and surprisingly good prices, though, they do represent excellent value even without making them into a fish finger styled USB drive. They’re also a great way for Kingston to make money as people will undoubtedly need replacements regularly.

Hide Your Flash Drive In Your Watch

Flash drives just keep getting smaller in dimension while growing in stature and storage capacity. In fact many of them are no bigger than the actual USB plug, and if they do get any smaller then you’re going to need specialist tools to remove them from your PC, never mind attempting to find them again once you’ve secreted them about your person (we don’t need details).

This 4GB flash drive is concealed in the back of a fairly inconspicuous looking watch. Not only does that mean you could carry round government secrets without fear of having them stolen, but you won’t be able to leave those all important records on the bus either. As is the trend, the flash drive really is tiny measuring in at 1.5 x 0.5 x 0.25 inches so you may need tweezers to get it back out of your computer.

If they ever become popular, of course, then everybody will know what you’re hiding in the back of your watch, but for now they are available online and cost little more than £20 to £30. That includes the drive and watch, in case you were wondering. You’ll need your own government files to add to it.

Corsair Padlock Flash Drive

USB Flash Drives come in all shapes and sizes, and Corsair are one of the companies responsble for the influx of such devices. The Flash Padlock from Corsair is one of the most secure and simple ways to store large amounts of data and offers peace of mind that your data is completely secure even when you’re mobile.

Owners can enter their own pin codes, and as soon as you remove the flash drive from the computer, it automatically locks using that code. To unlock it, simply use the mini keypad provided to enter the pin and you’re away with your data. Two indicators display whether the drive is currently locked or unlocked.

The plug and play flash drive is multi platform compatible and can be used with Windows, Mac, and Linux based system and because it’s plug and play there’s no need to install any software or drivers before you can start using it. This also means you can transfer data quickly and easily (presuming you haven’t forgotten your pin).

2GB and 4GB versions are available and range in price from £10 to £20 depending on where you shop. Forgetting your pin shouldn’t be a problem because you can choose your own rather than use a randomly generated one – use your bank card pin or your best friend’s hairdresser’s sister’s birthday to make it as memorable and secure as possible.

Fortunately, you can register one or more pins on the Corsair website, so if you do happen to forget it (which, if you’re anything like me, then you will) you can retrieve the pin and carry on as normal.

The Solar Powered Backpack

Solar is the big thing in ecogadgets. Portable, light weight, and surprisingly inexpensive solar chargers can be used to encourage life into most of your portable devices and at gadgetshop they also have a solar powered backpack. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that you charge it up and then it packs and carries your personal belongings.

The bag includes a rechargeable battery pack for emergencies as well as various mobile phone connectors and a mini USB cord. Inside the bag you get numerous compartment type walls that you can use, ignore, or swear at when you’re attempting to single handedly juggle your laptop, mobile phone, and mp3 player into its cushioned confines.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on how effective the charger is but it does act as a moderately more subtle alternative to wearing a neon sign reading “Gadgets Found In Here”. Headphone access means you can listen to your mp3 player or mobile phone while storing it in the conveniently included storage compartments. A rain proof sleeve ensures that you’re protected against all eventualities including the unpredictable British summer.

The bag is designed for comfort with a padded back and numerous buckles placed so that they will take some of the strain when carrying heavier items.
 

What Could You Do With 1TB Of Hard Drive?

A terrabyte is one of those figures that sound incredible, but they’re just too large to truly fathom. It’s a bit like the prices that Internet companies are being valued at. In reality, a 1TB hard drive is going to offer little genuine use to most of us except that it gives us bragging rights to tell people we’ve got a 1TB hard drive.

You could store 200,000 mp3 tracks, roughly equivalent to every single one of Cliff Richard’s 17,500 albums. If you’re more of a movie buff you could, in fact, store around 1,500 avi format movies (that’s a lot of back up copies in anybody’s book).

I can’t think of a possible reason you would want to but you could choose to hold about 700 copies of Windows XP (without Service Packs installed – that would probably bring the figure down to more like 500) or 70 copies of Vista.

Is there a reason for this seemingly pointless list of figures? Well, surprisingly, there is a dim glimmer of a connection.

Sumvision offers a 1TB external 1TB hard drive at a smidgen over £100. That’s a lot of storage for very little money in our book and we felt it was worth the tenuous link.

Recent Discovery Could Lead To DVDs Holding Hundreds Of Films

When the mp3 file format came along, it negated the need to store hundreds of “backup” discs in the glove box of the car. It meant that we could happily record numerous discs onto one mp3 disc and just carry that single CD in the conveniently helpful CD player. Researchers have long struggled to perform a similar miracle with DVDs because of the limitations of diffraction.

While lab tests have discovered methods of counteracting this problem, scientists had yet to discover a means to transform these discoveries into robust and practical everyday solutions. Now, thanks to Hard University scientists, that could be about to change and we could soon be enjoying the same benefits we’ve enjoyed thanks to the compressed mp3 file format.

The new technology could mean a DVD capable of storing up to 3.6TB of data, whereas current DVD discs are only capable of managing 4.7GB – that’s an increase in storage of about 750 times the amount of data.

Another potential use for the science, as reported on the Technology Review website, is in the creation of silicon chips. Because the process involved in etching the chips suffers the same diffraction limitation, with alternatives costing an infeasible amount of money, this breakthrough could lead to smaller chips holding more data and costing considerably less.

<Next Page » 1 2 Next Page »