It’s been a long time since I gave a flash drive a second look, but that’s probably because most flash drives don’t with three different ports. Silicon Power’s latest line of thumb drives solves a problem that’s about to give device owners worldwide a massive headache: the transition from USB-A and micro-USB to USB-C.
The Mobile C50 is a line of 3-in-1 flash drives that feature a clever way to swap between different connectors. On one end, you have a standard USB-C. But on the other is a micro-USB with a USB-A connector cover that can flip down. The design uses the same pin terminals as the microUSB connector, cutting down on stress and potential points of failure.
Much more importantly, it means you can swap between the three most common types of USB connection without resorting to a dongle, or swearing at international standards organizations. It makes it feasible to swap files between an old Android phone and a brand-new MacBook, stopping at a desktop PC from 2003 along the way.
Pricing and availability is still a mystery, but we do at least know that the drive will come in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB varieties. Flash drives have fallen in price to the point where I wouldn’t dream of spending $50 on one, normally. But if this is reasonably priced and doesn’t break the second I look at it, I could see it finding its way into my laptop bag as a drive for all occasions.
