U3 drives lack programs

Memory specialists Kingston and Sandisk have announced their first U3 drives, designed to allow you to use your favourite applications on any PC.

The idea is that you keep the code zipped up on a USB flash drive that you can use on any PC. But because most programs look for configurations in the PC Registry or elsewhere on the main drive, they need tweaking so they work on any machine.

U3, a company set up by Sandisk and M-Systems, admits that few mainstream programs have been adapted, though the Skype client should be available by the time you read this.

Sandisk is bundling the Cruzersync utility, developed by French company Dmailer, which synchronises with the My Documents folder and Outlook email, calendar and contacts.

Andrea Butter, vice-president of marketing for U3, said she uses this to move work between her office and home. ‘It saves me having to carry a notebook,’ she said.

A list of U3-enabled software is available at www.u3.com. Butter said much more would become available over the coming months, including some very well-known products. ‘Many companies are planning it into their development cycle.’

The Sandisk drives, which are selling in the US for $54.99 (£31 approx) for 512MB and $99.99 (£56) for 1GB, will be available here early next year. Respective US prices for similar Kingston U3 Datatraveller drives are $42 (£24) and $80 (£44); they should be on sale here by time you read this.