The next generation of USB sticks is knocking on our doors: Pretec is the first company to announce a device that packs 16 GB of storage space into the form factor of a common USB Flash stick.

The new I-Disk II can save the contents of more than three regular DVDs or 23 CDs. There is enough storage space for about 10,000 digital images or 4000 MP3 music files. Pretec claims that the memory stick runs at a speed of 166x, offering a data transfer rate of about 25 MB/s.

The bragging rights to own the highest capacity Flash drive aren't cheap. Pretec will be offering the drive at the end of this month in Europe for about $640. The 8 GB model will be sold for $205. And if the mainstream 2 GB models are enough, than you can get such Flash sticks for around $40, according to data provided by Pricegrabber.