USB flash drives have rapidly dropped in price over the last few years, now being common enough to appear on back-to-school lists and even vending machines. Kingston’s newest announced model, though, might be a bit too pricey for that – it’s projected to cost at least $2000 for the thumb-sized device.

No, it’s not plated with gold or diamonds. What it boasts is the claim of “World’s First 1TB Flash Drive,” a feat almost unthinkable half a decade ago.

So exactly how big is that? 1 TB (terabyte) equals 1024 GB (gigabytes). For comparison:

• The largest iPod available maxes out at 160 GB, and holds over 200 hours of video.

• Most laptop computers have hard drives between 160 GB and 1 TB.

• A standard rewritable DVD can hold about 5 GB.

• Most smartphones are available in sizes no larger than 64 GB.

Perhaps this is natural. With high-speed internet becoming more of a standard, it also makes sense that the more you can download, the more you’d want to store or transfer. On the other hand, you can now store more music than you’d ever be able to listen to (well, almost. It would take you 40 years to hear 1 TB of music, assuming you also listened in your sleep).
 
As the technology advances, the more commonplace it becomes, too. It used to be you could buy some pencils and paper and be set for school… but the times, they are a’ changing. Jefferson City Public Schools now include a flash drive as part of their student supply lists. Thankfully, it’s a far smaller (and cheaper!) 1 GB model. Campus vending machines in Columbia, MO sell even smaller drives for just a few dollars. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone here at Socket that doesn’t have a handful.
 
If you don’t need an entire computer’s worth of data hanging from your car keys, you can always purchase Kingston’s relatively cheaper 512 GB model… for only $1337.  Try to avoid leaving it in your jeans pocket on laundry day.