VisionTek's new Pocket SSD delivers PC-sized storage in a flash drive-sized package VisionTek's Pocket SSD slips into your pocket, but it's faster than the hard drive in your PC—and just as spacious.

Brad Chacos | @BradChacos

Senior Editor, PCWorld

• Dec 16, 2015 8:40 AM

Hard drives are sooo 2010. VisionTek just released an SSD-on-a-stick that could be the perfect complement to your PC-on-a-stick, or any other computer that needs a quick, yet spacious storage boost.
The VisionTek USB 3.0 Pocket SSD lineup appears to be mere thumb drives on the outside—albeit ones clad in snazzy aircraft-grade aluminum—but on the inside, they offer SSD-sized storage: 128GB ($90), 256GB ($150), and a whopping 512GB ($280). As the name implies, VisionTek’s tiny USB 3.0 Pocket SSD slips into your computer’s USB 3.0 port, where it delivers read/write speeds of up to 450MBps/155MBps. Being restrained by the limits of the USB 3.0 interface, that’s nowhere near as fast as modern internal SSDs, but it’s still speedier than many traditional hard drives—and hey, it’s portable! This could be a solid solution for schlepping your movie collection and Steam library from PC to PC.
VisionTek’s Pocket SSD lineup is slated to launch later this month in North America, and as USB devices, they’ll work with Macs, Windows devices, and Linux PCs. Stay tuned! We have a review sample inbound to deliver you a no-nonsense verdict sooner rather than later.
The story behind the story: Flash drives aren’t just for stashing documents on anymore—they’re getting as spacious as SSDs and faster than the spinning hard drives found in most PCs. Wondering how you can put something like the VisionTek Pocket SSD to good use? Be sure to check out PCWorld’s guide to five insanely powerful tools you won’t believe can fit on a flash drive.