There's no shortage of flash drives optimized to take advantage of the bandwidth afforded by USB 3.0 but few really push the envelope like VisionTek's new PocketSSD. This appropriately-named drive pulls no punches as its aircraft-grade aluminum chassis plays host to a SandForce controller like what you'd find in a traditional solid state drive.

As you'd expect, the thumb drive is plenty fast with read speeds of up to 455MB/sec and writes topping out at 440MB/sec. At those speeds, backing up important data or transferring pictures and videos between computers would take a fraction of the time it does with slower drives.

While quick transfer speeds are certainly part of the lure, VisionTek is quick to point out that the PocketSSD can be used for more than basic storage needs. For example, you could create a bootable drive to run your Windows desktop and apps on other PCs or even on a Mac.

Because the drive uses the USB 3.0, it'll be backwards compatible with older 2.0 ports as well albeit, at much slower speeds.

All of this convenience and speed does come at a price, however. VisionTek's 120GB PocketSSD will set you back $109.99 while the 240GB model retails for $174.99, or about $0.92 per GB / $0.73 per GB, respectively.

For comparison, you can pick up a 120GB Kingston SSDNow V300 series drive for just $59.99 or a 240GB Mushkin Enhanced Chronos SSD for $104.99.

Both new PocketSSDs are available for purchase on VisionTek's website.