Sometimes flash drives need to be rugged and withstand a certain degree or physical torture. The folks over at LaCie certainly think so, as the company has just announced its XtremKey, which is a small flash drive that is protected by its 2mm thick metal pipe casing that is sealed with water-resistant screw threads and a rubber O-ring, making it waterproof up to 100 meters. Aside from that, the drive is capable of withstanding drops from five meters, temperatures between 392 and -58 degrees Fahrenheit, and its zamac alloy shell is rated to be strong enough to survive being run over by a 20,000lb truck. It also is pretty good at keeping itself balanced, as you can easily stand it up on your desk, and it’ll wobble when knocked, but it won’t fall down. This USB 2.0 flash drive sports read and write speeds of 40Mbps and 30Mbps respectively. The XtremKey will begin to ship in August with the 8GB model priced at $50. Capacities up to 64GB will be available, though the pricing for higher capacity models haven’t been announced just yet.
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