Verbatim Launches 16MB Rewriteable FlashDisc: Useful Product or Worst Idea Ever?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.verbatim.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=1EFABDB3-1143-3415-5F87A571DCF6BD35' target='_blank'>http://www.verbatim.com/news/news_detail.cfm?news_id=1EFABDB3-1143-3415-5F87A571DCF6BD35</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Verbatim® Corporation, the worldwide leader in CD and DVD media, announced today an exciting new storage solution, the Verbatim16MB FlashDisc. The innovative FlashDisc is not only a brand new product, it forms the basis for an entirely new flash-based media category. Developed by M-Systems, the Verbatim FlashDisc will be available in April. With an MSRP of only $19.99 for a 3-pack, the new media is set to revolutionize the way consumers, students and office workers exchange photos, music and other digital data files. Available in rich, vibrant colors, Verbatim FlashDiscs can be used for cost-effectively exchanging data or as an alternative to leaving behind hardcopy business presentations. Depending upon the file size, each 16MB FlashDisc can hold hundreds of documents, dozens of presentations or photos or a handful of MP3 files."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/verbatim-flashdisc.jpg" /><br /><br />Remember in the first Matrix movie, when Neo was looking through a box full of cartridges? There's something I find appealing from a purely tactile standpoint - <i>seeing</i> and <i>feeling</i> a physical repsentation of your data. But that type of data storage is becoming less and less common - Verbatim seems to be making a push for bringing it back. 16MB doesn't seem like enough space to be all that useful. What do you think of the FlashDisc concept?

[ctmagnus]

For doing the business card thing, maybe. Otherwise, a 256MB flash drive can be had for $10CAD (after rebates) at the moment. (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&amp;langid=EN&amp;sku_id=0665000FS10072327&amp;catid=)

[Damion Chaplin]

I think it's a good idea... However....

Currently, the reigning 'disposable' media we're using is CD. They cost often less than a nickel each. The problem is, of course, that they're not reusable and they enter our landfill pretty quickly.

If they could get the capacity up there to at least rival a zip disk then they would have a chance. Zip disks almost made it and probably would have if ultra-cheap CDs hadn't come along.

I do think there's a market for reusable, low-capacity 'discs', I just think they're going to have a hard time convincing us that they're better to use than a CD or USB key... I think they're going to have to get them down to the sub-1-dollar mark before they even start to catch on...

[Crocuta]

Oh yeah, let's take a media type that's currently smaller than your pinky for 2GB, reduce the capacity to 16 MB and make it big and cumbersome as well. People will line up for that one! :roll: What are they thinking?! There may well be a market for small cpacity flash keys at a low price (lower than that), but why would anyone want this ridiculous thing?

Make them regular simple and small flash keys with 16 MB capacity and sell them for $1 each. Then I'd buy a ten-pack and they could replace CDs as something that you'd be happy to just give away or mail to someone with some data on it. This, however, is simply not going to fly.