Kingmax Releases World's First Transparent Flash Drive

Kingmax figured it may as well use this year's edition of Computex (Computex 2012) to show off something it can honestly say no one else has tried to market so far.

We are, naturally, speaking about the world's first transparent flash drive, although the term is utilized in a somewhat misleading fashion, all things considered. We say this because the product is not actually see-through. Not exactly. Instead, the case is made in such a way that the internal flash chip and wire-bonding can be seen through a clear glass “window.” Kingmax UI-05, as the newcomer is called, has a streamlined look, a metal housing (with the aforementioned glass section on the top side) and a LED light (blue).

Whether or not this makes the device ”cool” enough, and befitting of the performance and storage capacity, will be left to customers to decide. Speaking of which, the flash drive has 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB of storage space, plus USB  support, of course (3.0, we assume). All versions come in COB packaging (Chip-on-Board) and have full compliance with CE, FCC and BSMI requirements, as well as RoHS guidelines (Restriction of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment).

Unfortunately, we don't know where this product is up for sale, or at what price. All Kingmax said in its press release was that “all products are backed up with warranty and global customer service to guarantee most satisfactory user experiences.” Which, truth be told, is no different from the promises of all other IT companies out there. We are not saying it is wrong for such statements to be made, but we would have preferred it if the hardware maker actually said how much money people were expected to cough up for the UI-05 and how long the warranty lasted.

Posted in: Hardware, Preview