U3 has announced plans to launch its new USB smart drive technology.
The company is also making available U3 Software Central, a website where users can download a variety of applications to U3 smart drives, which are then available with a single click on the U3 Launchpad.
Once a U3 smart drive is removed from a computer, all windows close, leaving no personal information behind on the PC.
Regardless of the computing resource, be that the home PC, office computer, PCs at other locations, hotel resources, or Internet cafe, system users can check e-mail, edit a document, or surf the Web using a safe and trusted environment that is carried with them and all stored in one place.
U3 smart drives in various capacities from 256MB to 2GB and containing selected applications, such as anti-virus, password protection, synchronization, and personal firewall will begin shipping on 15 October, 2005 from global brands, including Kingston Technology, Memorex, SanDisk, and Verbatim, along with European vendors such as disgo, Data Storage Advisors, and Intuix. U3 has also announced that I-O DATA will begin to produce U3 smart drives for the Japanese market in early 2006.
The USB smart drive increases the usefulness of the USB storage key, enabling software to be used wherever it is the most convenient, and allowing private and secure computing on publicly accessible or shared PCs. In addition, it is possible to improve system stability and performance, as temporary or trial software need not be loaded onto the main PC hard drive. In some instances, using the smart drive can remove the need to carry a laptop from one location to another.
It is recommended that organizations take a closer look at this technology when it becomes more widely available.
Source: OpinionWire by Butler Group (www.butlergroup.com)
