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Pretec announces tiny USB 3.0 flash drives

Pretec unveils SSD-based USB 3.0 hard drives that could be the most compact to date.

Dong Ngo SF Labs Manager, Editor / Reviews
CNET editor Dong Ngo has been involved with technology since 2000, starting with testing gadgets and writing code for CNET Labs' benchmarks. He now manages CNET San Francisco Labs, reviews 3D printers, networking/storage devices, and also writes about other topics from online security to new gadgets and how technology impacts the life of people around the world.
Dong Ngo

The new i-Disk Rex 100 could be the tiniest USB 3.0 flash drive in the world to date that offers 128GB of storage.
The new i-Disk Rex 100 could be the tiniest USB 3.0 flash drive in the world that offers 128GB of storage. Pretec

LAS VEGAS--It seems that portable hard drives get progressively smaller as CES 2011 continues.

Yesterday, Verbatim introduced the USB 3.0 External SSD, which beat the recently reviewed LaCie FastKey both in terms of storage space and portability. Now, as the show is nearing its end, Pretec, a company known more as a maker of system memory, has unveiled an ultracompact USB 3.0 flash drive of its own, the i-Disk Rex 100.

Measuring 2.9 inches by 0.7 inch by 0.2 inch, the i-Disk Rex 100 is arguably the tiniest flash drive in the world that offers 128GB of storage space. The drive supports USB 3.0, which translates into much better performance compared with USB 2.0 flash drives. It shares the same design as the LaCie FastKey, taking the shape of a thumbdrive, but is about 40 percent smaller.

The i-Disk Rex 100 is available later this month in 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB capacities. The price has not yet been announced, but like all SSD-based external hard drives, it won't be cheap.

In addition to the i-Disk Rex 100, Pretec unveiled the i-Disk300, a superthin SSD-based USB 3.0 external drive that offers up to 128GB of storage, and the first USB 3.0 flash card reader, the Pretec P240. These two will also be available later this month.