Netac says that its OnlyDisk U220 is the world's smallest USB flash disk with built-in security. The unit measures 5.5(d) x 13.5(w) x 53(h)mm and is now on sale in five versions at VAT-inclusive prices between £13.99 (128MB) and £49.99 (2GB).
Underscoring the U220's small size, the company points out that the depth is "almost the same" as a USB connector.
Outwardly, that may be true, but when you start measuring things in tenths of a millimetre, things are a bit wobblier. A quick check with a ruler shows that a USB plug is, perhaps a shade under 4mm deep.
Splitting hairs? Undoubtedly. But when the next contender for the crown of smallest secure stick-drive comes along, those hairs may matter.
Weight, though, is nothing to shout about. At 13g, the metal-bodied U220 is nearly nine times heavier than Sony's recently launched MICRO VAULT Tiny USB drive. The 1.5g, non-secure Sony is also significantly shorter - 30mm long - though 1mm wider, at 14.5mm.
However, the Sony looks to be far less rugged - it's plastic-bodied - and rather impractical. Sony hasn't left room for a lanyard-fixing point and also doesn't supply a cap. Instead, the drive comes with a soft plastic pouch that has a lanyard and matches the colour of the drive.
Netac's arguably has history on its side, too. It claims to have invented the USB flash memory drive back in 1999 and to hold the patents in China and the USA.
As well as protection from unauthorised access, the Netac disc's contents are also said to be secure against corruption, thanks to the use of "Ultra-Stable Technology". This patented system is intended to protect files if the drive is unplugged or powered off during data transfer.
Netac says that the OnlyDrive U220 has hard-wired security and encryption built-in, though it doesn't detail the encryption level. Doing things this way, it reckons, not only enhances security but also makes the drive convenient to use because no protection software has be installed on a PC. A write-protect switch is fitted, naturally enough, to prevent accidental file-deletion.
The U220 shows up on a PC as two removable drives - one normal, one secure. Users can choose how much capacity to give to each or can make the entire disk a no-go area for those who don't know the password.
Users can set a "retry limit" on the password, locking the data if the wrong password is entered too many times. After this - eek! - the drive must be wiped with a provided unlock utility to free the space.
The OnlyDrive U220 is reckoned to be compatible with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Server 2003, Mac OS 9.x to OS X.x and Linux 2.4x. Win 98, though, requires drivers. These can be downloaded here and come in a 3.84MB Setup.exe file containing a format utility that may be required by users of other versions of Windows.
That's because, on all versions of Windows, the format utility is used to help the drive carry out one further trick - be set up as a bootable USB Zip drive or bootable USB hard drive, though such booting requires support in a PC's Bios.
With USB 2.0, the write speed is said to be up to 8.5MB/s and read speed up to 9.5MB/s. USB 1.1 is supported, as well, with the drive claimed to offer data transfer at "faster speed (1.2MB/s) than normal USB1.1 disks" - prompting us to wonder, what is the speed of "normal" USB 1.1 stick drives?
Update - July 12, 21:55
The three paragraphs directly above have been changed to include some details that weren't available earlier.
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