Thursday, February 18th 2010
Kingston Digital Ships First 256GB USB Flash Drive in the U.S.
Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the release of DataTraveler 310, the first 256GB USB Flash drive in the United States. The DataTraveler 310 replaces the 256GB DataTraveler 300, released in July 2009 to the Asia/Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.
"We saw an opportunity to push the capacity envelope for USB Flash drives in the marketplace. Customer feedback and our research determined that this is a great solution for designers, engineers and architects who have a need to easily store and transport large data files," said Andrew Ewing, USB business manager, Kingston. "For the enthusiast who wants easy access to their full media library, the DataTraveler 310 can store up to 365 CDs, 54 DVDs or 51,000 images*. This device makes an entire collection of data easily portable."
The DataTraveler 310 features Password Traveler software, which allows the user to create and access a password-protected privacy zone. The secure area of the drive can account for up to 90 percent of the drive's capacity and does not require administrator rights.
The DataTraveler 310 has a protective cap that snaps onto the back for the drive for convenient storage when not in use. This drive is available only in 256GB and is backed by a five-year warranty and 24/7 tech support.
DataTraveler 310 Product Features and Specifications:
** Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage.
*** Speed may vary due to host hardware, software and usage.
"We saw an opportunity to push the capacity envelope for USB Flash drives in the marketplace. Customer feedback and our research determined that this is a great solution for designers, engineers and architects who have a need to easily store and transport large data files," said Andrew Ewing, USB business manager, Kingston. "For the enthusiast who wants easy access to their full media library, the DataTraveler 310 can store up to 365 CDs, 54 DVDs or 51,000 images*. This device makes an entire collection of data easily portable."
The DataTraveler 310 has a protective cap that snaps onto the back for the drive for convenient storage when not in use. This drive is available only in 256GB and is backed by a five-year warranty and 24/7 tech support.
DataTraveler 310 Product Features and Specifications:
- Capacity**: 256 GB
- Fast***: data transfer rates of 25MB/sec. read and 12MB/sec. write
- Safeguarded: includes Password Traveler
- Convenient: does not require Administrator rights to access the Privacy Zone
- Dimensions: 2.90" x 0.87" x 0.63" (73.70mm x 22.20mm x 16.10mm)
- Operating Temperature: 32°F to 140° F (0°C to 60° C)
- Storage Temperature: -4°C to 185°F (-20°C to 85° C)
- Simple: just plug into a USB port
- Practical: loop supports most key rings
- Guaranteed: five-year warranty
** Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage.
*** Speed may vary due to host hardware, software and usage.
27 Comments on Kingston Digital Ships First 256GB USB Flash Drive in the U.S.
On 256GB?!?! USB3 or GTFO!
I'm curious what this looks like when taken apart :)
Someone buy me one:)
But really, I'll just carry around an SSD. Tranfer little things, transfer large things, not a problem.
At 256GB there is no debate what-so-ever that this device is intended to carry large amounts of data.
In fact, your defense opens a much more terrifying problem, if it only hits 12 writing sequential LARGE files, how bad will it perform if you where actually using it to store hundreds of thousands of small files?
Even if you where only copying a portion of the drives size in files, 40, or 50 gigs transferred to this drive wouldn't even be a quarter of it's capacity and would still be an extremely painful process.
25 / 12 is not only virtually unusable, but bordering on flat out incompetent in this day and age where even the cheapest of common flash devices are starting to hit 35 / 25. We have to ASSUME that this drive in fact uses multiple memory chips , witch taken any reasonable design philosophy, should in fact open an excellent opportunity to make this drive note-ably faster than standard single chip devices, by using some form of internal "raid".
I'm sorry but, in my opinion, there is no validating argument for a 256GB device that (assuming claims correctly) can only do 25 / 12 :\
Unless it hits the shelf at $20.. then I'll take 4...
That's not so bad. Quitcherbitchin.
I agree with the others that this product is fail. Transfer speeds are far too low for that capacity. I have a 16GB Patriot Xporter XT, and copying the contents of the main CS4 iso to it took 3 hours at around 8GB, and it's faster than this drive. This drive needed to be USB 3.0 speeds, or it the whole concept needed shelved.
A flash drive beyond 16/32GB seems a bit pointless, no?
I'm still amazed we live in a world when we can cram this much storage on a thing as big as my finger. Frikkin' amazing, although I kinda agree on this is a waste of money.