Kingston Digital, Inc. today announced it is shipping its first USB 3.0 Flash drive.

The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 Flash drive takes advantage of the faster USB 3.0 specification that has up to ten times the data transfer rates of the current USB 2.0 specification.

The DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 has a read speed of 80MB/sec. and a write speed of 60MB/sec. It is available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities. To ensure backwards compatibility, Kingston is also including a Y cable as some USB 2.0 ports require it to initialize USB 3.0 drives.

During internal testing at Kingston' s labs, an 1 hour 44 minute movie (3.9GB) was written to the drive in 1 minute 13 seconds. Similarly, a 2 hour 23 minute DVD (4.4GB) transferred to the drive at a fast 1 minute 23 seconds.

The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 USB Flash drive is backed by a five-year warranty.

DTU30/16GB - 16GB DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 USB Flash Drive - $ 89.00
DTU30/32GB - 32GB DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 USB Flash Drive - $ 138.00
DTU30/64GB - 64GB DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 USB Flash Drive - $270.00

Features and Specifications:

* Capacities: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
* Requirements: system with USB 3.0 port
* Backwards compatible with USB 2.0
* Speed: data transfer rates for USB 3.0 up to 80MB/sec. read and 60MB/sec. write;
USB 2.0: approximately 30MB/sec. read and 30MB/sec. write
Dimensions: 2.90" x 0.87" x 0.63" (73.70 mm x 22.20 mm x 16.10 mm)
* Operating Temperature: 32° to 140°F (0° to 60°C)
* Storage Temperature: -4° to 185°F (-20° to 85°C)
* Practical: durable casing with a solid lanyard loop
* Warranty: 5 Years
* Compatibility Table