Flash Drives With Character and Taste

Everyone needs a protocol droid in their pocket. Mimoco makes that possible with its lineup of Star Wars Mimobot flash drives, now in its third release. You can choose from a host of characters still for sale, including C-3PO, Darth Sidious, a royal guard, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Wicket the Ewok, and Luke Skywalker. (Regrettably, some others, like Boba Fett and R2-D2, are no longer available.) Most of the characters look cool, with great artwork on both the front and the back of the drive. As for myself, I'm torn, given the choice of a wide-eyed golden droid, an evil-looking Sith Lord, a smirky Solo, or the princess (she's drawn to look bad-ass with a gun). The drives start at $30 for 1GB; from there, add $5 for 2GB, $15 for 4GB, and $35 for 8GB. That's a pretty premium versus buying a generic 8GB USB flash drive for $15--but it's so much more fun.

Star Wars isn't the only niche among Mimoco's offerings: High design is the central theme across the company's entire line of USB flash drives. It has plenty of models with original designs, along with three versions of Domo, a small Japanese character with a huge following and a huge backstory. Domo is a brown monster whose fearsome jaw is ratcheted open, as if he's perpetually ready to chomp. The Domo drives start at $25 for 1GB; from there, add $5 for 2GB, $15 for 4GB, and $35 for 8GB.

Get the game lover in your life their own personal Master Chief. Or maybe a Blue Spartan or a Red Spartan. These three Halo drives, also from Mimoco, start at $25 for 1GB; from there, add $5 for 2GB, $15 for 4GB, and $35 for 8GB.

After seeing what Mimoco does with its drives, I feel like Disney has missed out on potential ways to render Jack Sparrow and his famous locks in the form of a plastic USB drive. But at least his image jazzes up this otherwise ordinary 512MB flash drive. Pick it up on sale (read: on the way out) at DisneyShopping.com for $8.

Your Mickey ears could never do this. You pull off the knob-like ear on this flash memory drive to reveal the USB connector (the other ear has a loop, to serve as a keychain). A-Data's Theme Series T703 Flash Drives aren't new, but you can still buy them in capacities up to 8GB (sold here for $53). As a bonus, you can put your own photo in the center of the drive, and it opens to reveal a miniature mirror.

This panda bear is not cuddly, but it sure is cute for a USB drive. So are the others in Tribeca's Zoo series, which includes a tiger and a frog. Amazon sells the 1GB models for $14; you can also get 2GB for $25 at Universal Electronics.

Buried inside the custom-sewn design of Seabol the Data Squid is a 4GB USB drive. This $89 creation from NifNaks is made from wool, like his cousins Maggie the Data Worm and Gizzy the Data Worm. The $56 Maggie also packs 4GB, while the $64 Gizzy holds 8GB.

The Bone Collection offers this little 4GB, $30 penguin drive. The head, which pops open to reveal the USB connector, conveniently remains attached.

Japan is known for its remarkably realistic food displays that adorn restaurant windows. Now you can store up to 2GB of data in your food, with Japanese manufacturer Solid Alliance's Sushi USB drives. Buy them stateside at Dynamism, but be aware that you'll pay a pretty penny: A 2GB salmon sushi roll is $50.

Want a drive that looks tasty enough to eat? Amazon stocks several food-themed USB flash drives, including the 1GB chocolate doughnut shown above, a strawberry doughnut, a slice of pizza, strawberry shortcake (yummy), a hamburger (2GB!), a hot dog, and a fortune cookie. No manufacturer is listed, but for $20 a pop, let's face it--you're buying these for the cool factor, not the capacity-price equation.

For a certain set, the Hannah Montana craze continues, and with this bracelet-styled USB drive, kids can wear their data on their wrist, with Hannah gazing out at them. Somehow, I'd have expected a more stylish bracelet drive considering the target audience, and one with more than just a half-gig of memory. But hey, it's only $5.60.

Racing, anyone? Centon has three NASCAR-themed USB drives in its DataStick NASCAR series, including #24 Jeff Gordon (pictured), #48 Jimmie Johnson, and #88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Each drive packs 4GB of storage inside the 1:88-scale replica of the racing car. The drives run $20 a pop at Amazon.