For-Car USB Drives on Way

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USBs designed for car useIt’s great that many car radios now sport USB ports on the front panel, but they also invite a problem. It’s easy to knock a USB drive out of the port with knees or arms, when in the car. It can lead to a damaged drive or worse, a damaged port in the radio. Verbatim and Scosche are introducing special USB drives that are shorter and that you can leave in the radio without worrying about inviting damage.

Most USB drives protrude 1 to 2 inches from the car radio (or laptop or netbook) once plugged in.

USB for car from VerbatimVerbatim solves the in-car problem with its Store ‘n’ Go USB Car Audio  drive, which holds 8GB and protrudes only 5mm.  It will come to U.S. shores next month, after debuting first in Europe last month.    No word yet on U.S. pricing, but the European version sells for 18 euros or about $26.

Scosche is also planning a drive that will store 2GB and will protrude by a ½ inch maximum, it said. There’s no pricing or shipping date yet.

For more details on the Verbatim drive see here.

Source: Verbatim and CEoutlook

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8 Comments

  1. I have been using Microsoft Sync to play music directly from the USB port. It works great. The USB port is hidden in the center console, so there little chance of bumping into it. I use a LaCie IamaKey but agree that the smaller USB Keys like the MosKeyto 8GB would better even better. Sync also finds the media on my blackberry when bluetooth is active.

  2. Its good to see other manufacturers getting on the wagon , we stuggled to convince suppliers there was a demand for low profile memory sticks, buffalo told us there was no demand in Europe and wouldnt supply, however, bizkey, and Fujii already do this, but moskeyto to a 4gb which we retail for £18.95.
    According to Pioneer the reason USB is on the front is because customer clinics say you all want this !
    Bring back the rear USB with a cable into the glove box, far superior, especially if you want to leave an I-pod plugged in.

  3. UGGHH. This has been out there for years already. This is not news. Just because they print it with their logo now????? OOOOOHHHH I see your print on it now… Big deal. Let’s try to stick with real technological advances at this site please

  4. @Bryan – I Respectfully disagree with you also as I\’m constantly updating my music list and don\’t want to uninstall my deck everytime I download new songs, which is what i would have to do if my usb input was on the back.

    @Bob- If your head unit does not control anything on your car then I would say you won\’t need any AV software. Also how would you install this software if there is no OS for your deck?

  5. Respectfully disagree with Bryan re: utility of these smaller USB drives. My F150 with Sync has a USB port on the front that we find extremely handy, and if anything wish there were two exposed ports. We plug in everything from iPhones to iPads to back-up batteries to just about anything that can use USB either for charging or for media access. A smaller USB stick is a welcome addition for vehicles like mine. Now if Ford would just upgrade their 2010 Sync software to be able to easily play music directly from a thumb drive… Argh.

  6. Does this mean we now have to buy Anti-Virus software to install in our cars too?! Given that 100% of new cars rely on computers, any information about how security risks are mitigated would be appreciated.

    Thanks!

  7. Great idea, but I wish manufacturers would put the USB on the backside of the head unit on at least 50% of models. Not only can you bump the drive when it is on the face, it just looks tacky. Many consumers are looking to buy older units with USB on the back so they can just plug it in, throw it in their glovebox, and forget all about it.

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