Kingston - a high-profile U3 partner - has reportedly stopped selling flash drives based on the U3 mobile USB apps platform. Insiders hinted that the decision came after the cost pressure from royalty fees. From the beginning, Sandisk has been charging 5% IP for adopting the platform, but the fee is largely depending on the volume shipped. Citing memory module manufacturers, lack of promotion and high cost are the reasons behind the low penetration rate of U3 apps. Many people actually buy thumbdrives for storage purposes despite expectations that mobile software is the future. Kingston is said to have moved on to other alternatives. 
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USB technology is the de facto connectivity standard for PC peripherals & consumer electronics; it has evolved from USB 1.1 to USB 2.0, Wireless USB and USB 3.0. Everything USB takes an in-depth look at these products and other offbeat USB gadgets, and brings you information and reviews needed for you to make a purchase decision. Welcome and enjoy your stay. If you would like to contact us with a tip or comment, please write to: newstips@everythingusb.com
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Filed under Hardware
Thumbdrive Reviews
- Ironkey 1GB Secure Flash Drive (2007)
- OCZ ATV Turbo 4GB Flash Drive (2007)
- Corsair Flash Padlock 2GB Flash Drive (2007)
- SanDisk Cruzer Contour 4GB Flash Drive (2007)
- Corsair Flash Survivor GT 8GB Flash Drive (2007)
- Corsair Flash Voyager GT 4GB Flash Drive (2007)
- Kingston DataTraveler Secure 4GB Flash Drive (2006)
- SanDisk Cruzer Titanium 2GB Flash Drive (2006)
- Lexar JumpDrive Mercury 1GB Flash Drive (2006)
- Lexar JumpDrive Secure II 1GB Flash Drive (2005)
More USB Apps for Flash Drives
- Red Hat's Fedora 9 Linux Now Runs Off USB Keys
- Halo, Office 2007, Safari Now on U3 (With the Help of One Man)
- FireFox 3 Beta 5 Goes Portable
- Tiny USB Office - Lightweight Productivity Suite Weighs at 3MB
- msramdmp - Bootable Flash Drive Circumvents Disk Encryption
- Lost&Found - Encryption, Backup and Data Recovery Made Easy
- RingCube Triples the Speed of MojoPac
- Thinstall Makes Your Own Portable USB Apps
- Disk Hero - Real-Time Backup for U3 Drives
- USB Safely Remove, Godsend for Gadget Junkies
- MojoPac is now Free, Still not Ready for Vista Yet
