Hands-on with Kingston's 1TB USB Stick

While CES is known for bringing a storm of new gadgets, just a few products really stand out each year. On Monday, Kingston announced one such device. In Las Vegas this week, the company unveiled the world's first 1TB USB stick.

Set to launch during the first quarter of this year, the drive carriers both the DataTraveler and HyperX brands. Officially named the DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0, we heard it affectionally referred to as 'the brick' on more than one occasion this evening. In fact, we had a hard time getting near Kingston's booth at Pepcom's Digital Experience tonight. Each time we tried to visit the company, we were put off by a crowd of people all eagerly craning their necks for a better look at the device (among other wares on show at the Kingston table).

We eventually got a hold of a tired Kingston rep who confirmed a Q12013 launch but couldn't give any specifics on pricing. The DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0 offers read/write speeds of up to 240MB/s and 160MB/s, is SuperSpeed USB 3.0 certified and is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0. Kingston also has a 512 GB version in the market, which is priced at $1,750. We'll keep you posted on a price for the 1TB version.

Feast your eyes on the images below in the mean time. Unsurprisingly, the company didn't even really bring the device to CES. The ones you see in the photos are mock ups. When we asked if they were the real thing, a Kingston rep told us no, adding, "Do you think we'd have them out on the table if they were?" That, along with the price of the 512GB model, should give you an indication of just how expensive this thing will be.

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