A USB key card is one of several new USB storage unit designs that combine the look of familiar objects with the functionality of an ultra-portable USB digital drive. These are sometimes called wallet USB cards, Slim USB drives, or card shaped USB models. A USB key card can include the technology used to open a door or perform other key card tasks. Alternately, the USB card can double as a credit card with magnetic strip technology included.
The availability of USB key card designs and similar items represents an amazing progress in the technology used to build digital memory storage devices. Less than twenty years ago, large, bulky disk drives were still the norm. Since then, the arrival of the solid state drive initiated the rise of smaller drives like USB flash drives and devices continued to become smaller.
The solid state drive replaces a traditional disk drive. Until recently, hard disk drives were universally used in computers. The disk drive includes a “wheel” or “disk” that is written on by a stylus to provide the binary information that is decoded by a computer or other device. The solid state drive replaces this with a writing and reading apparatus that does not require a rotating disk or other moving parts.
Technology companies are looking carefully at how USB key card items and other similar products could revolutionize the digital data storage industry. These kinds of small items can provide a lot of new opportunities for branding. For example, a company can include its business information on the card face, as they would with a regular business card, and program detailed multimedia presentations or other client outreach information into the USB drive.
Critics of the Slim USB products or card shaped USB argue that the design is not efficient. Some think of these kinds of items as “gimmicks” and question whether the average recipient will want to carry them in a wallet or purse along with credit cards. Others find USB card devices to be the best new way to store information or to disseminate information about a company or individual.
The ongoing debate over the USB key card design will ultimately be solved by consumer opinion. Companies routinely assess the value of new projects according to sales numbers. If the general consumer base picks up on the utility or appeal of USB key card devices, they will become a normal and familiar addition to the wallet.
