MSN did a fun article on 8 lavish gadgets for the holidays, and of course, a USB flash drive made the list.

Gresso introduced a 64GB USB flash drive which is F1 racing inspired with sleek design, look and material.  Gresso used the base material to be carbon fiber [the black] and titanium alloy as the accents [silver] then glazed the entire device with a special ceramic coating.

The Gresso branded USB stick will set you back 6,448 Peso’s or about $500 USDs.  Still small enough to be lost in any coat pocket, but a perfect stocking stuffer for the well-to-do.

So the question becomes:  would your friends be more impressed with the Gresso flash drive or a $500 bill?

I’d pick the cash.

Backyard Brand is looking to coin a new phrase with their FlashHarp USB drive.  I’m classifying this under hand crafted USB because it’s a relatively simple mod of a harmonica to include a USB drive.

Granted, Backyard came up with the idea, so props to them.

They do a good job of selling the concept with: “Even if you never master the art of blowing the harp, you’ll never have to throw this harmonica in the back of a drawer. Sweet gift for anybody, young or old, who really likes music.”

If this stick gains any kind of traction we can expect china to knock off a plastic version of this in about 3 months or less.  Granted, it’s not your typical custom USB drive, but for those looking to get the original mod, head over to Etsy and grab yourself a 2GBer of sweet soul for $44USD.

USB Harmonica FlashHarp product page [they should spell it FlasHarp]

Back in June of 2009 I made a joke that GetUSB.info had a USB Steampunk award, now I’m seriously considering it.  Especially after seeing this new rendition.

This USB steampunk drive was made by a Russian modder.  He traveled to a local rag fair [I’m assuming street fair] to pick up old clock parts and gears.  The guy also picked up some stock brass tubing and screw rods to build a sturdy housing.  Then off the the metal shop.

The source website, EnglishRussia, has the entire tutorial on how to do this crafty artwork.  It’s far more interesting than educational, so if you are curious about the (more…)

In the beginning of July Engadget posted an article about a new release of Star Wars USB drives, not that we need more, but it was a fun little gallery - yet, not impressive enough to make you buy.  Today that changed with this artist’s rendition of what he thinks a Star Wars USB drive should look like.

It should look like Luke Skywalker’s hand just got cut off.

That’s right, to gain access to your portable storage you need to sever Luke’s hand.

What’s more impressive is the detail of this home-brewed USB stick and the agony you can see in Luke’s eyes while you detach his hand just to store the latest collection of Tera Patrick photos.

No price as I don’t think these are for sale, but definitely a sweet little project for some bored teen. (more…)

The MNEMOSYNE USB cube is an artistic 3 dimension puzzle hiding a 16GB USB key inside.  The product is made by SolidAlliance, which based on their past products, is all a puzzle to me.

I can understand the artistic point of all this, but take that away and this is what you have: (more…)

These USB fish are rubberized drives giving them a very unique shape and bright, vibrant colors.  I don’t think the typcial computer geek would appreciate these, but for someone a bit more into aquatic life these could be of interest.

First up:  USB Swordfish

Second Up:  USB Grouper fish

Third: (more…)

If, GetUSB.info had an award for best Steampunk drive, this would get it.  Set in a nice wood case, this Steampunk USB drive is riddled with over 30 mechanical parts from six different watches.  Some parts are from watches that are over 100 years old.

The 16GB hand crafted USB Steampunk also holds 26 Ruby gems which catch the light from different angles.  When the stick is plugged in the standard green LED illuminates and also creates a nice look.  Unfortunately no picture of it connected.

This prize winning Steampunk took nearly 12 hours to complete…and looks fantastic.  What do you think? (more…)