LaCie intros SSD USB 3.0 drive, touts 260MB/s transfers

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Need a super quick thumb drive? Prepared to spend a couple hundred bucks? Meet LaCie's "FastKey," said to be the world's smallest SSD USB 3.0 drive. Measuring 1.1 x 4.1 x 0.4 inches and weighing just over an ounce, the device isn't much, if any larger than the average USB 2.0 flash drive. However, it marries the performance of "highly robust" solid state drive, USB 3.0 and DRAM cache technology to deliver a maximum transfer rate of 260MB/s -- well beyond the speed of your typical USB 2.0 offering.

By LaCie's calculations, the FastKey is quick enough to transfer 1,000 MP3s or five DIVX videos in less than 60 seconds. Instead of waiting minutes to transfer a large number of photos or songs, the company says transferring small files is "immediate." Other features are limited to a sleek aluminum casing and software for AES 256-bit encryption, but hey, what more do you need with 260MB/s transfers? Pricing starts at $149.99 for a 30GB drive, while 60GB and 120GB versions are $249.99 and $479.99.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/41217-lacie-intros-ssd-usb-30-drive-touts-260mb-s-transfers.html

 

[Emil]

This would be an awesome replacement for my 16GB flash drive!

 

[princeton]

I would love to get one but you can't expect regular consumers to pay $150 for 30gb of storage. It costs them maybe... $5-10 to make the god damn things over in china.

 

[bugejakurt]

It costs too much!

 

[fpsgamerJR62]

Awesome performance but priced to put the big hurt on your wallet. Except for the convenience factor, one would be better served with a fast external HD. Maybe they should use these thumb drives in the next Misssion Impossible movie instead of the obsolete MO disks they used in the first movie. These are the guys who need to copy stuff in a hurry

 

[Nima304]

They're charging 4-5 dollars per gigabyte, whereas a normal 32GB flash drive costs $2.00 per gigabyte.

 

[HiDDeNMisT]

Yeah i think this flash drive is very cool but not for that price

 

[Archean]

@Mathew
Can't we stop such totally senseless remarks ruining the privilege of guest account?

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Sure can. There's a delete button for that.

 

[Archean]

Ah, thankyou

 

[gwailo247]

Outside of the very rich, who don't know how much stuff under a million costs, and spies, who would buy this?

 

[DSparil]

Of all the "3s" (PCIE 3, SATA3, DDR3) that have come out or are coming out, the USB3 has the greatest improvement (or at least noticeable) improvement so yes, this is a step forward than another step sideways. Give it a year or so for the price drops and the phasing-out of USB2 and everyone's already using USB3.

The odd part about this is that most computer "enthusiasts" are watching out for the other 3s, and completely dismissing the USB3. The reality of it is that only the USB has a noticeable performance improvement over anything.

 

[gwailo247]

The odd part about this is that most computer "enthusiasts" are watching out for the other 3s, and completely dismissing the USB3. The reality of it is that only the USB has a noticeable performance improvement over anything.

Why is that odd? The keyboard, mouse, webcam, Xbox controller that I have hooked up via USB won't benefit anything from USB 3.0, and I use the USB 2.0 external hard drives for backup only, so while 3.0 would be faster, I can get by with 2.0. A transfer of about 150 GB took me about an hour, I can live with that.

I think 3.0 is a great natural progression like SATA was from IDE, but unless you're someone who backs up tons of data on a daily basis or otherwise somehow constantly needs the 3.0 bandwidth, then its nothing to get that excited over.

I don't need a 10 inch water pipe to take a shower, and people don't stop becoming enthusiasts and become "enthusiasts" because they don't espouse the same opinion on a new technology as you do.