While we post pictures of many of the unique drives that are ordered from us, when the order falls into one of two categories, I make it a point to snap some photos. Those two categories are: well known, global organizations (such as our drives for BMW, McDonald’s, and Heineken) and computer & internet related organizations (Zoosk, CBTNuggets.com, ClareHome). Today we have an order that fits both my favorite categories: swivel style drives for Intel Corporation, the multinational computer chip manufacturer. Feast your eyes on this:

Intel choose to go with our swm style, a capless USB drive with their logo printed right onto the metal swivel part of the drive. They also ordered custom printed cases with the drive, wallet sized metal boxes that feature Intel’s logo as well as a clear window through which you can see the USB drive. I can’t help but wonder what use these drives will be put to: will they be distributed to consumers as a promotional product, or will they be used in-house in one of Intel’s factories or corporate offices? Ultimately I cannot speculate what Intel’s intentions are for these drives, but I do know this, the Intel logo looks great on this white and silver drive and I wish we had some extras so I could add one to my collection. Oh well, there’s always the next order…

Our latest custom shaped flash drive was ordered by a company called ClareControls for their new line of cloud based smart-home technology. I have been interested in smart houses and the products designed for them for a few years now, as it is apparent to me that technology like this will become common place in the coming years. ClareHome utilizes cloud based computing to allow you to control your home from anywhere using a variety of devices. Powered by Mac mini computers, they have developed their own operating system, ClareOS, and a library of apps that allow you to control a variety of devices,  from your fireplace to your house alarm or your garage door.

ClareControls choose to have their company logo made into a custom flash drive, and I’d say the results are right on point. The logo features a house inside a cloud and is the perfect representation of what the company is about. The back of the drive has the name of the company in raised lettering which also looks very good. All in all we were very pleased with how the order turned out, and we hope our clients are as happy with them as we are.

Besides making the specific flash drives our customers order, we also spend a lot of time online, scouring the internet for cool and interesting ideas to incorporate into flash drive design. Sometimes we find somebody who has beaten us to the punch, so to speak, and made a really unique flash drive on their own. This is exactly the case with the drive I’m featuring today, the FlashHarp. Found on etsy.com this drive is a functional harmonica, as well as a working flash drive, though its a bit smaller than the usual harmonica and a bit larger than the average flash drive.

Although a cool concept, the price tag is hefty for a 4GB flash drive, not to mention the fact that you cannot use both functions of the device at once, so if you were hoping to learn to play the harp while transferring files onto your flash drive, you will have to look elsewhere. Regardless of it’s shortcomings, this drive really caught our attention for being an original and fun idea. If you’ve got a cool flash drive or have seen a really unique one online, let us know. We are always interested to see what cool ideas are being thought up!

This week we had an order for MGSCOMM, a advertising agency, come through the office. The drives immediately caught my eye because of the vibrant colors the customer chose for their order. Though the flash drives they choose (the WBM style) were all black, they brightened the look of the drives by using their “think” logo in a variety of colors.

The logo on this style of drive is covered with an epoxy seal, making the design more durable as well as giving it an attractive shine. As you can tell, we had some fun taking photos of these drives!

Today I checked the mail and I was quite surprised to see what was waiting for me. BMW sent me their welcome package for our new car. Apparently they are pretty hip to the USB scene because inside the little box/booklet was a card style USB drive with a custom epoxy coated raised BMW logo.

I plugged it into my computer, and a cool video started up automatically. People driving fast through scenic countryside and winding roads, all with huge smiles on their faces. These guys know their customers, I do like driving fast. Once the video ended, a flash screen appeared and I was presented with several options. There was a section with a digital owner’s manual, links to videos about the car’s features, special promotions BMW is running and information about how and why to sign up for an online account. It was a very well made presentation, and including it all on a custom flash drive was the icing on the cake. Had they emailed me with the same videos and information, I probably would never have read it, but receiving this physical USB drive made me excited to see what they had sent me. I checked out every last thing on the drive.

BMW really used these drives to their full potential. An attractive custom design on the card style drive and a preloaded auto-play presentation with links to their website, all on one of our most popular card style drives.

It’s that time of year again where students everywhere are making the most of the final weeks of summer vacation. While the students relax, the schools are already in gear preparing for the next school year to start. We’ve been getting tons of orders for usb drives from schools all around the country all summer, and they’re really coming in droves now.

It’s interesting to see all the different school designs and logos. Some universities order USB drives for faculty use, while others are purchased for distribution to students. Who knows maybe many years from now, some of these drives will be collectors items!

In today’s world, with all the phone-hacking, patriot-acts and identity thieving, and it can never hurt to take extra steps to ensure your privacy. And while most USB drives can be encrypted or otherwise password protected, very few feature an actual, physical lock, the oldest form of security known to man! That is, up until now. I was very excited to find this usb drive, that truly has security in mind. Made to resemble an ancient cryptex , this usb drive requires you to physically enter a combination code to unlock the cap. Of course the drive can further be encrypted to deter more persistent criminals, hackers or international spies. All this security will not come cheap though, as right now there are no plans to produce these drives for retail sale, and you will have to go the costly DIY route. Should you decide to take the plunge and actually make some of these, do let me know, I’ve got some files I need hidden

The original creator of this device is an elite security ninja, all we know is that he goes by “Tarator” and resides in Russia.

The latest order to come through our office is for McDonalds! I love getting orders for large successful organizations, and you don’t get much bigger or more successful than McDonalds. Check out these flash drives:

For anyone who doesn’t already know, McDonalds Black 365 is a program that Mcdonalds launched to celebrate African-American Culture, not just during black history month, but all year long. We are all proud to have been a small part of this great program, and hopefully these drives help spread the word. Take a moment and visit their website for yourself: Mcdonalds Black 365

Today I’ve got another cool custom USB order for another big name company. Chiquita (as seen on every banana you ever ate) had us make these one-of-a-kind avocado Flash Drives, with their famous blue sticker printed on it, of course. This goes to show you, anything you can think of can be made into a good looking USB drive. It would certainly grab my attention if I saw an avocado sticking out the side of somebodies computer!

What’s really amazing is to see these drives go from concept to fully functional product in such a short time. Maybe next time Chiquita will order a banana USB drive and we can start a flash drive fruit basket.