Transferring data for on-the-go use is about to get a whole lot faster according to Intel executives. Intel unveiled what its touting as the “world’s fastest thumb drive,” at this year’s Computex. The product in question is a key-shaped 128GB portable thumb drive that plugs directly into a Thunderbolt port, rather than a traditional USB slot. According to Intel, this will allow you to transfer data at a much faster rate than is possible with traditional flash drives. Currently, the thumb drive supports a speed of 10Gbps, which is the max allowance for Thunderbolt technology. For reference, USB 3.0 runs at a speed that is around half of the capabilities of Thunderbolt. According to PCWorld, the drive appears to be similar in size to most flash drives currently on the market.
Intel’s drive doesn’t require any cables to operate, either. This is welcome news considering that most Thunderbolt-based peripherals and hook-ups can run at rather high prices. A traditional two-meter-long Thunderbolt cable can be had from the Apple store, but it’ll cost you around $40. Intel’s new creation uses an internal SSD to store your transferred data. Unfortunately, the Thunderbolt thumb drive shown is simply a prototype and we haven’t received any information from the company concerning a price point or a potential release date.
There is a strong possibility that these 10Gbps speeds could increase in the near future too, perhaps before the thumb drive even hits the market. Intel just recently released information regarding Thunderbolt 2, an upgraded version of its popular port. The company stated that Thunderbolt 2 ports will find their way into PC’s by the end of the current year and will increase data speeds to 20Gbps, which is double the current rate.
Photo via ComputerWorld
