While LaCie's new tiny flash drive certainly shares some characteristics with the bothersome insect with a similar name, it's safe to say that the MosKeyto is a very different beast altogether. Sure, they're both lightweight and very small and you may have difficulty seeing them in certain lighting. But whereas the high-pitched buzzing from one is usually followed by some serious irritation, bytes from the other are actually a good thing. Available in storage capacities of up to 16GB, with extra online storage included, the MosKeyto has to be one of the smallest USB flash drive's around, doesn't it?
Okay, it's not the thinnest USB flash drive I've seen. The slimmest I've been able to find is Kingmax's Super Stick Mini at 0.07-inch (2mm), followed by Transcend's JetFlash at 0.09-inch (2.4mm) and then Sony's MicroVault Tiny at 0.1-inch (2.7mm). But none of those products feature a full-size USB 2.0 plug and still manages to squeeze up to 16GB of flash storage into 0.83 x 0.63 x 0.4 inch (21 x 16 x 10 mm) dimensions.
LaCie's MosKeyto flash drive is designed to be plugged in and forgotten about, having similar port presence to those tiny transmitters now accompanying many wireless input/output peripherals. The company's Alexis Kobassian said: "While the MosKeyto has resemblance to a bug, this USB key is far from pesky. It provides high capacities in a low-profile connector, allowing you to insert it into your notebook and forget it."
The drive comes in capacities of 4GB, 8GB and 16GB, although the product page doesn't show the 16GB version at the time of writing. LaCie has also included an extra 4GB of Wuala secure online storage with every purchase. And the MosKeyto is shipped with a nylon strap and protective USB cap for those times when it's necessary to move it between computers or carry it around on its own.
The MosKeyto USB flash drives are available now, prices start at US$17.99
