U3 4 USB
What is U3 technology and what sets U3 flash drives apart from the rest?
In simple terms, its because their extra feature allows to run software and personal settings independent of the host computer. Previously, a USB drive was limited to store and transport files. But with U3 technology the same can be done with games and applications now. All under password protection and without leaving a trace! The only thing you do depend on is that the host computer runs Windows since U3 is only compatible with Microsoft’s operating system (from Windows 2000 SP4 upward).
Flash drives equipped with this functonality are called U3 smart drives. Once they’re plugged into a computer, the U3 launchpad starts and enables the user to run pre-installed software as well as download compliant applications.
U3 Technology explained with the U3 Launchpad
The scope of U3 software is quite impressive. You can browse the internet with Firefox and take care of your emails with Outlook or Thunderbird. You can chat with your friends via Skype and send files via YouSendIt (up to 2GB). You can also run anti-virus programs like McAfee or Avast. Or you can use RoboForm to automatically fill out forms with your pre-stored information. Back-ups and photo editing are possible too.
But best of all, there’s a wide variety of U3 games you can play, including Big Fish Games. There’s puzzles like Sudoku or The Rise Of Atlantis, action via Fizzball or Monkey Business and various forms of Mahjong. Also board, card and word games.
Here are detailed lists of U3 software:
Companies that are marketing U3 smart drives are Memorex, Verbatim and Toshiba. The biggest distributor is SanDisk as almost all of their Cruzer flash drives feature U3 technology. But that’s no surprise as they co-invented it, together with M-Systems.
Flash Drives enhanced with Software: U3 Smart Drives (@ 
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Since most of these flash drives are pretty cool by themselves it’s also possible to remove the U3 and use them as regular storage devices. This may actually be a vital option in case your system has problems handling the extra functionality. Luckily it’s easy to remove as the uninstall utility is included.
Let’s conclude with an interesting question. What gives U3 technology its odd name? According to the inventors, it represents three “you” statements. “Simplified for You”, “Smarter about You” and “As mobile as You”.
For more information feel free to check the U3 website.
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February 9th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
U3 looks promising! This serves as the vital missing link with USB drives all these years. Wonder when U3s will hit the market!
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February 21st, 2010 at 5:30 pm
This is excellent information. I have been looking for such things a long time. I guess I could install an antivirus program to run on machines when I drive around fixing them, right?!
- Ray J.
March 1st, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Felix, sure. If you click on the software central link you can see that there is antivirus as well as antispyware offered.