The 2016 edition of Computex Taipei continues, and after learning about the new Intel Core i7 with ten cores, we now enter the field of accessories: pen drives, to be more precise. SanDisk revealed a new generation of pen drives with a very special detail at the convention. It is a dual USB interface that allows the user to connect the pen drive to a traditional USB-A port, or to one of the new USB Type-C ports.
USB Type-C ports are slowly finding their place in the market. Several computer models have adopted them "from the factory", while dedicated PCI Express interface cards make it very easy to add this technology to previous systems. The point is that we need to see more accessories, and if they turn out to be affordable, much better. We know very well that USB Type-C capabilities are extensive, but if there is a convenient way to "popularize" the new port, it is through the pen drive. With that in mind we traveled to Taipei, the city where the 2016 edition of the Computex convention is taking place. There, SanDisk presented its new "Ultra Dual Drive" units.
Second generation with dual USB
Technically we are looking at the second generation of the product, so SanDisk has had time to optimize several aspects of its pen drives. The main element is undoubtedly the dual USB interface. Thanks to a small slider at the top, the user can choose to connect the pen drive to a traditional USB Type-A port, or take advantage of the new speed parameters available in the USB Type-C interface. Under the USB 3.1 specification, SanDisk talks about a read speed that falls between 130 and 150 megabytes per second, depending on the exact model. The new pen drives are also compatible with the Memory Zone management app for Android, and have a five years warranty.
Models, prices, and availability
SanDisk decided to divide this new generation of Ultra Dual Drive into four models: 16, 32, 64, and 128 GB. The aforementioned 130 MB/s read speed is for the 16 GB model, but in all cases we should expect lower write speeds. Official prices across the pond will be $19.99, $29.99, $39.99, and $69.99 respectively. The official announcement indicates availability is immediate, however, we estimate that a couple of weeks should pass to see them online.
