The drive is 4GB of musical goodness and available through the BackyardBrand Etsy store. Geez, gadgets like this make me wish I had a lick of aptitude for playing instruments. [Etsy via Coolest Gadgets via OhGizmo!]

The first 128GB USB flash drive we say, the Kingston Datatraveler 200, was mostly a proof of concept, with relatively slow read/write speeds of 20/10MB/s. It was also prohibitively expensive at nearly $550. Corsair's drive has the speed to be really enviable, and it comes in even cheaper than the Kingston drive. Note, however, that we didn't say it's affordable, at all—Newegg is selling it for $400. Still, it's pretty great to be able to carry around even a massive music collection in the change pocket of your jeans. [Corsair]

The drive is divided in half—2GB on each side. So separating files is as simple as choosing which side to stick into the computer. The drive also comes in several colors and includes the option of laser etching text or icons on either side of the switch to help you distinguish between drives. Available for $20. [Split Stick]

Having run similarly obsessive benchmark roundups before, Testfreaks is no stranger to flash drive testing. They're quick to show us, then, that these drives are generally pretty terrible, and that if you're looking for performance, you'll probably be better served by a decent mainstream drive over a plasticized shrimp. One gripe throws a damper on this wonderful test: I kinda wish there were a few more of the flash drive legends, like the beer drive, the humping dog and for good measure, Sylvester Stallone's genitalia. [Testfreaks]

Interestingly, the physically largest drives—the OCZ Throttle (which also has eSATA) and Patriot Xporter—are the absolute fastest, but Ars recommends Super Talent's Pico B in terms of bang-for-buck. (The Pico C is cheap too, 4GB for $12 and well-reviewed on Newegg). Kingston's DataTraveler seems like the pokiest of the bunch. But overall, the current gen of flash drives are good enough across the board, no matter what you get, it's gonna be decent.

It's worth poking through the entire rundown, if only to appreciate how much care went into the divining the best piece of something that's almost the definition of disposal tech. [Ars]

Now that every press release anyone gets handed comes on a USB flash drive, I've found it hard to actually purchase one. But an unobtrusive 8GB on my keychain for $33 ($22 for the 4GB) is appealing. At least it looks like I can use it with my MacBook and still have room for something in the other USB slot. [Brando]

Update: Speed is up to 15Mb/s read, up to 6Mb/s write

This Bamboo USB drive with built-in Post-its is, maybe, the absolute cutest little flash drive we've ever seen—in spite of its somewhat confusing stance on the environment. Of course, that cuteness comes at a premium beyond the glare of fellow earthy-crunchy office workers. A 2GB model runs $30, including just 100 miniature notes. And at that price, you may be better off just slicing dollar bills for your grocery lists (like I do now). It works OK as long as you start with crisp bills and keep your twenties far from the singles. [Daramouse via bbGadgets]

Using a single rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, the pen can record up to 60 minutes of color video, and can be charged using a USB charging cable or an emergency AC power adapter. Also included is a special stand, which converts the Spy Pen from a simple video recorder into a webcam. And as for hiding all your important documents? Simply unscrew it in the mid section, and voila! The Spy Pen is now a 2GB USB flash drive.

It'll cost you $99 for the 5-in-1 Spy Pen, but if you pay just 10 bucks more, you can own one with 4GB of memory. Listen and sniff closely, do you hear/smell that? It's a collective orgasm from millions of spies around the world. [Product Page via Red Ferret]

This flash drive also has a digital screen and a USB port built in so that you can plug in other flash drives to transfer more data. However, because the Leyio uses an ultrawide-band radio that is different from bluetooth or Wi-Fi, you must plug in a custom dongle in order to sync your Leyio with your computer. This also means that this flash drive can only wirelessly connect with other similar Leyio devices. [Leyio via TechDigest via OhGizmo]

Roses are red
Violets are blue
The Rose USB Drive stores gigabytes of data
(OK, just two). - Mark Wilson

[USBGeek via 7Gadgets]

Each Bagel Drive is individually hand-crafted from the finest ingredients and carefully preserved by a proprietary process. No two look exactly alike! It’s the only flash drive that looks good enough to eat.

I have to admit, the $25 bagel drive looks so delicious that my brain is having a tough time registering the fact that it's not real. Seriously, if a test unit were sitting by my computer right now, I'd be tempted to take a bite, or at least lick it once.

Don't judge me. [Bagel Drive via Geek Alerts]

In the background you can see that the female has ripped the face off the male and stuck his lifeless corpse up on the fridge with a phony suicide note. Tragic I know—but it's nature and we mustn't interfere. Available in 2, 4 and 8GB capacities. [A-DATA]

The flash drive isn't just coated in a eraser material. The entire thing actually is an eraser, save for the flash drive circuitry. Eventually, you'll wear the drive down to that metal on bare paper level that punished you as a child. Except this time, they'll be some voltage awaiting your notification. [studioroom906 via DVICE]

The test is by no means exhaustive, as there are many hundreds—if not thousands—of USB drives on the market today. The test did include popular sticks from recognizable brands, as well as some budget and novelty pieces that you might be likely to pick up. The results were somewhat predictable: sticks from reputable companies like OCZ, Lexar and Sandisk offer greater read/write speeds, and sticks in the 4GB range perform consistently well.

There were some surprises, namely the standout performance from OCZ units and the plodding, about-as-fast-as-it-would-be-if-it-stored-data-on-actual-wood Brando Wood drive. And results aside, I've derived some comfort from the fact that out there somewhere, there exists a man named Kristofer Brozio who is willing to actually run a dozen time-consuming benchmarks on over 20 USB keys. Check out the full results at the source link. [Test Freaks via Engadget]

Challenged with a potential userbase made up of two effectively different standards—powered and unpowered eSATA—OCZ found a way to cater to everyone by tacking on an extra USB connector to power the stick when connected to older hardware, or to connect to computers without eSATA ports.

Aside from the nifty design, the OCZ will come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities and claims 90MB/s read speeds and 30MB/s write speeds, putting the Throttle head and shoulders above most USB 2.0 drives on the market. Now word yet on price or release date, but "not too high" and "soon" are reasonable expectations. [OCZ via HotHardware]