SanDisk's Cruzer Titanium Plus flash drive

If a 4GB USB flash drive just isn't enough to meet your needs, SanDisk's introducing a new device at CES that not only does the whole storage-of-zeroes-and-ones thing, but comes with six months free online backup with BeInSync (which costs $30 annually thereafter), as well as two years of BoomerangIt lost and found service. It'll be available in March for $60. One more shot after the break.

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Lenovo rolls out Olympic-themed USB drive

Lenovo formally launched in the Beijing Olympic torch flash memory, this is the first Olympic torch to the theme of action for storage products.
Its innovative technology and symbol of China's impression of the Millennium "lacquer red" color and "Xiangyun" pictorial beauty, the 2008
Olympic Games are approaching footsteps, we are prepared to use the telephone to see what size event live?

Of course, this is not practical products, but in 2008 the time should have been given for foreign friends as souvenirs.

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Gemei Readies Fancy US Series Media Player

Gemei’s United States X590 is inspired by the most powerful country, boasting a design that is simply, well, Chinese. The X590 boasts a 2.5-inch screen that supports 16 million colors. On each side of the screen is a rather roomy setup of buttons that makes it obvious this PMP is meant for gaming. Hopefully you’re into MD / SFC / NEO games. If movie watching is your thing, you have an array of file formats playable on the X590: RM, RMVB, FLV, AVI, DAT. For audio, MP3, WMA, APE and FLAC are supported. No word on price yet but we know it comes in lilac.

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SHD-U32GS, a new 32GB TurboUSB memory Card

If you are desperately looking for a way to download all your company's client database before running away with it and selling it to any competitors, here you are, maybe the ultimate USB Key, which will allow you to store up to 32GB of data and which will be 20% faster than any other USB Key thanks to the Buffalo’s TurboUSB…

Oh by the way, I am not responsible if someone will actually do what I just wrote previously…

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USB 3.0 -- 10 Times Faster -- In the Works for 2009

USB, that little rectangular plug that can be found on just about every computer peripheral cable you come across, is one of the biggest success stories in the history of computing. Ditching the slow serial and parallel cables of yore and replacing them with a fast, universal standard that could draw power and allowed connecting of dozens of peripherals without rebooting... well, it was genius. When USB 2.0 arrived, with much faster performance, it got even better. It's not hyperbole to say that USB, despite its humble status as a mere connector, is one of the most important computer technologies to ever
be invented.

Well, USB fans, things are going to get even more interesting and soon. USB 2.0 may be fast enough right now, but with
more high-definition video products arriving and bigger and bigger files being transferred, that won't be the case forever. Enter USB 3.0, which moves the bandwidth needle from 480Mbps to roughly 4.8Gbps, 10 times faster than the current version.

The new standard, which was recently demonstrated using a new optical cable (but the same connector), will be backward compatible with older USB formats and promises better power efficiency, too, in order to decrease the load on portable devices. Possibly in the works: Better ability to charge devices over USB, some of which still require an A/C adapter or
two USB connections to draw enough juice.

Specs are planned to be delivered early next year with commercial availability for 2009. Just do us a favor and clearly label USB 3.0 products with an appropriate logo this time! (USB 2.0 got caught up in a mini scandal when vendors started labeling USB 1.1 products as "USB 2.0 capable," with vendors later claiming they only meant the products worked with USB 2.0
connections. Fail!)

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Wi-Fire Range Extender

For the last six months, I've been using this small, directional USB adapter to hit marginal hotspots when parked. I'm traveling full-time now in a big bus/RV, so I've been everywhere and anywhere, and it really does work. One example: I was in a remote Alabama campground and their little access point was perhaps a few hundred feet away. With the internal Wi-Fi adapter in my Thinkpad (it's Mac/PC compatible), no go. With the Wi-Fire aimed carefully I got a solid, workable signal. I just rotate it around until I get the best signal. It does seem highly directional, too: an eighth-turn can make a huge difference and it's much, much stronger than with the internal adapter (the company claims up to 1000ft.). The big advantage, aside from the price, is that it uses a standard USB cable, so it can easily be extended and moved around unlike a Wi-Fi antenna which needs special cabling, connectors and isn't compatible with all Wi-Fi adapters. I keep dreaming up ways to do the ultimate, automatic long range communications antenna on the bus, but until then...

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