Look, we all know that the wusses at the Engadget HQ couldn't put a dent in LaCie's ultra-rugged XtremKey, not even if their moms packed handguns in their fanny packs alongside the Fruit Roll-Ups, Mace, and wads of PR bribe cash. So we decided to take a different angle in testing the drive: we decided to bum it out. Watch the video after the break.

Continue reading LaCie's XtremKey tested... emotionally (video)

LaCie's XtremKey tested... emotionally (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OK GUYS, WE GET IT. Sheesh, it's like they think we're a bunch of klutzes or something. Sure, there was that one time with the garbage disposal... one time. But after that... alright, the time with the mud, and the thing with the ocean. Oh, and when we dropped 2GB of Word documents into a black hole. Still, we hardly deserve to be treated like children. LaCie has stepped up the condescension to new levels with its XtremKey, a drive that's waterproof up to 100 meters, temperature proof from -58 degrees Fahrenheit to +400, and resistant to 16 foot drops. This ruggedness is accomplished by screwing the USB drive into a 2mm thick metal pipe that can withstand the pressure of a 10 ton truck rolling over it. Like that would ever happen that one time. The drive ranges in capacity from 8GB to 64GB, and will be out in August for some exorbitant, as-yet-undisclosed cost. Check out a needlessly abusive video of the drive after the break.

Continue reading LaCie's XtremKey: it's pretty rugged, we guess

LaCie's XtremKey: it's pretty rugged, we guess originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 23:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, a USB drive made of concrete might be a good enough idea on its own, but designer Shu-Chun Hsiao apparently doesn't settle for merely "good ideas," hence this so-called Memory Weights concept. Yes, it is indeed a USB drive made of concrete, but Shu-Chun takes things one step further by actually having the weight of the drive indicate its capacity -- 128g equals 128GB, and so on. Unfortunately, it is still just a concept, but reality is just a concrete mold away. Remember that, kids.

Concrete USB drives are worth their weight in gigabytes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 17:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Was the torture-tested Survivor GT flash drive just not extreme enough for you? Time to slap an extra letter on the end of the model name and take the plunge with the Flash Survivor GTR from Corsair. As far as we can tell, it retains all the salient features of its predecessor -- meaning a CNC-milled aircraft-grade aluminum shell that can withstand ridiculous amounts of punishment -- while tweaking the aesthetics a bit and adding water resistance down to a 200-meter (656-foot) depth. With transfer rates of 34MBps and 28MBps for reads and writes, respectively, it's no slouch either, though that's to be expected from what will surely be a pricey accessory for your superhero utility belt. 32GB and 64GB versions are expected to ship soon.

Corsair Flash Survivor GTR keeps up enduring tradition of rugged survivalism originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Apr 2010 12:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Victorinox Secure Pro USB drive is 'un-hackable,' can file your nails originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 03:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Betcha didn't know that USB flash drives weren't allowed in the US military. Or maybe you did -- you know, considering that one with Japan-US troop deployment maps went missing in mid-2008. Oops. At any rate, the Department of Defense has reportedly lifted said ban, but as with anything related to The Man, gobs of red tape will be involved. For starters, they won't be reintroduced "wholesale," instead being reserved for "mission essential applications." We're also told that the drives themselves must contain specific security features, and administrators will be able to track the use of 'em from the outset. For those unaware, the ban was originally put into place just over a year ago after virus-laden USB keys disrupted military networks, presumably flashing Blingee'd faces of Kim Jong-il onto CIA surveillance screens. Or not, but that'd be pretty hilarious.

DoD eases ban on thumb drive use for US military, our enemies rejoice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Our British readers will already be painfully familiar with the comical propensity that government officials (even spies!) have for losing sensitive data while on the move. It might be an idea, therefore, to give your forgetful local representative a break with one of these new Corsair USB drives. The Padlock 2 features OS-agnostic password protection via the keypad you see above plus 256-bit encryption of the data stored on the flash inside. So even if someone is tenacious enough to pry the case open, he'll have a hard time getting anything useful out of it. Oh, and don't worry about forgetting the passcode, there's a procedure for wiping the drive clean and generating a new one. 8GB units are available immediately, and we've spotted them online priced at £46 in the UK and $59 in the good old US of A.

Corsair's Padlock 2 offers 256-bit AES encryption inside a rugged body originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No matter how you slice it, having 256GB on your keychain is pretty rad. For those living in various regions of the world not named America, they've had access to the DataTraveler 300 for just under a year. Thankfully, the Kingston finally realized that Yanks love capaciousness as well, and the DataTraveler 310 is the solution that very sect has been longing for. Hailed as the first 256GB flash drive to ship in the States, the DT 310 is capable of holding up to 54 DVDs or 51,000 JPEGs of your undercover lover, and it'll function just fine with Windows, Linux and OS X-based systems. We're told that it'll sport data transfer rates of 25MB/sec (read) and 12MB/sec (write), but chances are you'll never get the opportunity to put those claims to the test. You know, given that astronomical $1,108 MSRP.

Kingston ships 256GB DataTraveler 310 USB flash drive to affluent Yanks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A-DATA's USB 3.0 / SATA II flash drive announced for January originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like the prior model, the new Pogoplug allows for USB drive sharing over the Internet. It'll run for $129, still have no service fees, take up to four USB drives, and have Twitter and Facebook integration.

Aside from automatically syncing content with a Mac or PC, you can share and watch movies, listen to music, or view photos directly through the Pogoplug website and even on an iPhone. Since we looked at the original version, Pogoplug has apparently made some upgrades to add a drag-and-drop interface and sharing over social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. But as we mentioned back then, while this is a great interface and solution, you are going to be relying on the company staying in business in order to be able to share data.

That one downside or not, the Pogoplug still remains a far quicker solution that setting up a separate Windows Server or similar, so if you're not put off by the $30 price increase since the original, you can pre-order now.

Second Generation Pogoplug™ Unveiled Today
Next-generation Hardware Design and Software Provide Enhanced Storage, Multimedia and Social Media Capabilities

San Francisco, Calif. – November 20, 2009 – Cloud Engines, Inc. unveiled the second generation of the award winning Pogoplug multimedia sharing device today giving consumers more flexibility to store personal content safely in the home and access, manage, and share it from anywhere on the Internet. The new Pogoplug hardware sports a new design boasting multiple USB ports supporting up to 4 external drives for expanded data capacity. The new Pogoplug also gives users improved sharing capabilities, an easy drag-and-drop interface to create engaging multi-media slide shows, seamless media playback, and enhanced sharing with friends on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Pogoplug acts like a gateway from your home or office through the Internet. It allows you to access, share and even stream your personal digital media directly to anybody, anywhere in the world. Your content always remains physically in your home or office, making it secure, convenient and available on your terms. Pogoplug is perfect for those individuals with increasingly mobile lifestyles and small businesses in need of simple, inexpensive mobile data access solutions.

"The reaction to the Pogoplug has been incredible. By listening to user feedback and following our own product roadmap, we are bringing a great second-generation product that gives our customers access to a host of new features that both improve the function of the Pogoplug, and add to the fun of using it as well." said Daniel Putterman, CEO of Cloud Engines, Inc. "We are committed to giving our customers the best way to access their data from anywhere in the world, pushing the envelope with both product quality and design aesthetic. The result is what you see here today."

NEW HARDWARE
The new Pogoplug design retains the simplicity and ease of use of the original while listening to consumer feedback and adding the ability to directly connect up to 4 external hard drives at once. The resulting product boasts an improved design with greatly improved functionality for users with multiple drives and an increasing need for easy synching and sharing of their digital libraries. This upgrade turns the Pogoplug into an even more prominent feature in the modern digital home or small business.

NEW FEATURES

Automatically Synchronize Photos, Videos, Music and Other Selected Content
Users can synchronize their Pogoplug with their PC or Mac to automatically import new content from popular applications such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, and iPhoto. This feature allows Pogoplug owners to "set it and forget it" and always have access to new photos, videos and music from anywhere on the Internet.

Drag-and-Drop Music and Photo Slideshows
Users can easily create and share fun and engaging slideshows using their stored photos, videos and music. Creating a slideshow with Pogoplug is as simple as drag and drop, and sharing these slideshows is just as easy as ever. Once a user's link is shared and viewed, their slideshow will immediately begin with the photos, videos and music they selected, playing seamlessly in the viewer's browser.

Easier Sharing with Pogoplug Address Book
Pogoplug Address Book greatly improves the speed and ease of use of sharing with a user's friends and family. Pogoplug automatically remembers all email addresses entered in a user's previous shares - even if that share no longer exists – and makes them available in an easy to use address book to make sharing truly one click away.

Global Search Across Multiple Drives and Pogoplugs
With support for multiple drives on a single Pogoplug (and multiple Pogoplugs on the same account) Pogoplug has added "global" search support across all of a user's Pogoplugs and drives. Search filters are now a distinct feature, allowing users to view all of their photos, videos and music in a single organized view, or to search for a specific file across all Pogoplugs and drives.

Organize Your Music, Photos and Videos
Pogoplug automatically displays music by Album, Artist and Genre, and shows cover art for quick access to a user's favorite music. Photos are now displayed by photo timeline and videos are only a click away, including the ability to watch a preview in the thumbnail itself.

Play movies directly from my.pogoplug.com, or even to the iPhone
Pogoplug now supports the playback of videos directly from a Pogoplug, with support for the most popular cameras, video cameras and mobile phones. Movies can be shared and viewed directly from the Pogoplug website – or even from an iPhone!

Pricing and Availability
We are currently taking Pre-Orders for Pogoplug at www.pogoplug.com Units will ship before the end of the year – just in time for the Holiday Season. The Pogoplug has a suggested retail price of $129, with no additional service fees.

[Pogoplug]