Sony announces pen drives for Android smartphones, tablets

Sony has launched new pen drives that are compatible with smartphones and tablets, bringing USB on-the-go functionality to these devices. The flash drives are "2-in-1 devices" with both USB 2.0 and microUSB connectors. So, buyers can connect them to phones and tablets as well as laptops and desktops. This isn’t the first time that we’ve such a pen drive, earlier this year iBall had introduced a similar hybrid drive with both USB and microUSB connectors.

Viviano Cantu, director of consumer media marketing, Sony Electronics, said, "These new drives combine convenience, peace of mind and performance and are perfect for mobile multi-tasking."

Pen drives for smartphones, tablets

The new Sony drives can be used with Android devices running on Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean. The company says that it is working to bring support for devices running on the newest Android KitKat version. The pen drives can be used to copy data between devices, and also as additional or temporary storage for smartphones and tablets.  The connector comes with locking caps to avoid any kind of damage and the body can withstand everyday knocks and bumps, claims Sony.

Son's new pen drives for smartphones are priced at $19.99 (approx. Rs 1,232) for 8GB, $29.99 (approx. Rs 1,849) for 16GB and $62.99 (approx. Rs 3,884) for 32GB capacities. These pen drives are expected to release globally in January 2014.