06 December 2005

USB flash drives are pretty ubiquitous, and lots of manufacturers are scrambling to figure out ways to differentiate their products from the pack-of-gum-shaped masses (for a great overview, take a look at Dan Costa's USB Key Superguide at the PC Magazine site). Walletex, a company that plans to specialize in "wallet-friendly devices" (as if you couldn't figure that out from the name), showed me one of the more original attempts: The Wallet Flash is a fully functional flash drive that can slip right into a card slot in your wallet. It's also a CES Innovations 2006 Design and Engineering Showcase Honoree, Alon Atsmon, the CEO of Walletex, told us.

The drive is made of laminated polymers, and I couldn't bend it. Alon also urged us to test its robustness by dipping it into a glass of water. We did, and yes, it still works. One other feature I like is the double-sided USB connector; doesn't matter which way you plug it in. That could save you nanoseconds a day!

The Wallet Flash will be available in capacities ranging from 64MB to 2GB; you can buy the 128MB size direct from Walletex, for now.

Post by Carol Mangis