Ryan Patridge's big idea…
Ultraportable Stick
Project Complete!
Project Brief
so… its time to pick how this thing will look / work.
SUBMISSIONS MUST CONTAIN A RELEVANT IMAGE, OTHERWISE THEY ARE SUBJECT TO DELETION.
recap of what the split stick is meant to be:
-————————————————-
It´s always a good idea to keep office and privacy SEPERATED.
Let them have there stuff and keep yours to yourself
This USB Stick makes it all pretty easy. Forget about partions and else.
This Stick has two sides. Basically its two USB Sticks glued together.
One side is yours. The other one is theres.
Here´s one i roughly “designed” – It comes with a “Me!” and “Them.” side to clearly show who is asigned to which end.
Never worry to mix up data again. Or those folks in meetings reviewing your data a stumbling across veryveryinterstingpic.jpg or ohmygod.avi while you upload a powerpoint. ;)
Meet The Creative
This design was inspired by Ben Kaufman's "Flat Fold" design, and by the SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus (a retail product). I think it's unique enough to merit its own submission.
It's just a small, flat stick, with exposed USB contacts on both sides. Functionally, it looks the same from both sides (when flipped), aside from any color or labeling differences. It doesn't actually have a full USB port connector, it just fits into one side of the USB port opening. When flipped, the other set of exposed contacts connects to the USB port. Each set of contacts leads to a different memory chip, thus preserving the dual-volume storage requirement of the "split stick" design.
The one-piece design has no moving parts, making it unlikely to mechanically fail or lose a removable component, and cheaper to manufacture in bulk. Each side can be labeled/colored differently, as appropriate. The stick could also simply be a naked circuit board (exposed memory chips, USB contacts). This could be both visually appealing and even cheaper to manufacture. The design may include an optional status LED on one or both sides, so the user knows when it is successfully connected to a PC.
The stick should be between 1" and 1.7" long, about the same length as a typical USB plug. It should not be any longer, to minimize possible transverse loading/torquing. It shouldn't be shorter, so that it is still long enough to be easily pushed into a crowded USB port.
The rear of the stick has a small hole, with a flexible strap with a loop at the end. The strap serves a dual purpose: it can be used to help pull the stick out of a tough-to-reach USB port (increasing its effective length), and to allow the stick to be easily looped onto a keychain or another strap, via a flexible connection.
Comments
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Show AllSee the example three comments up (the PQI i810). It's basically the same concept, but with an integrated waterproof dust cover. Very nice.
Is there a way to make the cover somehow attached to the physical USB drive? I would definitely lose it otherwise, and I think other people would, too.
Here's one that's almost exactly the same (except it's only one-sided), without a water/dust cover:
http://www.amazon.com/SuperTalent-STU8GPCS-Pico-C-Flash-Drive/dp/B001BAW7P4/
I just found something pretty similar on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/PQI-i810-Plus-Flash-Drive/dp/B001D7PNYM/
It comes with an integrated sliding dustproof/waterproof cover, which is not only a neat design, but indicative that the contacts likely do need protection from dust & water.
Thanks Stacy! Yours is certainly a valid concern. Perhaps we could include a small rubber sleeve/cap for the exposed end? It would likely only serve to alleviate the same concern a consumer might have, just like the similar caps that come with other USB thumb drives (caps which usually end up unused or discarded). Once you actually hold it, it's easier to see that it can withstand common environmental wear. (It'd be easier to convince you if you had a SanDisk Ultra II SD Plus to hold and examine, or something of similar design.) I can't be sure exactly how the contacts would wear during thousands of plug/unplug cycles, but I think they'd hold up well.
My biggest concern is its vulnerability when plugged into a laptop that is dropped or placed on an unstable surface (like a couch). The shorter it is, the less likely it will be exposed to large, sudden transverse force which could snap it.
Ryan, I do love this design. I'm a function-over-form fan. So I'm a little concerned about the exposed USB contacts getting dusty and/or banged up...
Just curious, are there any other "function over form" fans here? I just hate gimmicks so much, I'm all about utility. However, given that this site is "Quirky", I could see how there might be lots of creative form lovers here too.
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