Feature Articles

A-Data Thumb-Drives

By Francis Yeo - 11 Jul 2006

Standing Out in a Crowded Room

Standing Out in a Crowded Room

With the widespread acceptance of thumb-drives as a conventional tool at the workplace, many manufacturers have been cashing in on them. It's now hard to tell apart the plethora of thumb-drives in the market without benchmarking their data throughput, and even then, there would be little to rave about as USB 2.0 technology has matured somewhat. Competition is tough and A-data is not being left behind with their latest showcase of innovative thumb-drives.

The Organizer

It's hard to tell your thumb-drives apart just by looking at its cover, especially when you have more then one of the same design. However, A-data's ShowMeDisk thumb-drive will definitely catch your wonder and approval regarding this issue – it features a panel that greets you with 11 customizable characters and remaining capacity in numerical or pie-chart format. But what makes this thumb-drive even more special is the panel's independence of batteries. Using Bi-stable Cholesteric Display technology, the customizable label and capacity remains there even after removing the thumb-drive from the USB port.

The All-Terrain

A-data's Football inspired innovation is the rugged variant in its lineup of thumb-drives. Literally for road-warriors, it is entirely padded with rubber that is water-resistant as well as shockproof. This thumb-drive was a big disappointment to many after it was promptly stomped on, sat upon and thrown against a wall – the data within was absolutely intact and proved all the naysayers wrong. We were even more impressed when we noticed how much attention to detail was given for something so simple and rugged - the LED is individually covered by its own transparent rubber coating!

The Safe

Bringing a whole new meaning to the word 'thumb-drive', A-data's Fingerprint Disk is a biometric thumb-drive that can be protected by your thumbprint. Those skeptical of this feature would quickly be won over by its ease of use. On initial plug-in, a window pops up and takes three swipes of your chosen finger or thumb along with an alternate password. On subsequent use, the same window will prompt you to swipe for entry. Not entering the correct print or password will bar intruders from accessing the information within – absolutely reassuring considering there aren't any two thumbprints that are the same. Should in an unlikely case that you might actually lose your fingerprint or the reader is a little picky, the alternative password can be used to reset the security options. Finally, A-data's Fingerprint Disk comes in an irresistible Mac-white look.

The Oriental

Nothing like a fresh breath of culture to re-inject culture into our technology dominated lifestyle - A-Data introduces a gorgeous thumb-drive inspired by Chinese paintings and calligraphy. Within its elegant transparent thumb-drive casing, intricate slivers of calligraphy or art can be slipped within for a customized look. It even comes along with an elaborate dongle to compliment your thumb-drive. All of this comes packaged in a beautiful black box with velvet cushioning within.

Our Thoughts

Do not judge A-data's simple packaging, as what lies within is what actually counts. Simple but innovative ideas are what sets A-data apart from the pack. We give two thumbs up for A-data's effort to innovate within the saturated market of typical metallic looking thumb-drives.

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