One only has to look at the dearth of gadgets coming on the market today to see that we can now all have a bit of 007 in us, from home security systems that look like motion detectors to eavesdropping devices masked as a cell phone.

Is that Timex really a watch? Or is it a USB flash drive holding your sensitive data? The answer these days is that it can be both.

While Timex isn’t the maker, you can get a USB flash drive watch that also tells time. Hidden in the band is a USB connector. When you want to steal a little data (or back up your own), you can just unhook the connector and transfer up to 8 gigs of data. Best of all, it’s right there with you all the time. No more fumbling around in your pocket to find a handy USB flash drive, it’s right there on your wrist along with the current time and date.

Ordinary pens aren’t so ordinary either these days. Uncap the end and instead of ink you’ll find a USB flash drive. One second you could be writing an innocent note to someone and the next you can be docking the pen into a computer and backing up data. Not only are these great pens, but great USB flash drives as well. Sure, you could go with a standard USB flash drive, but why not get one that can also serve as a writing instrument, always at the ready to be analog or digital at a moment’s notice.

Even traditional USB flash drives can be pretty stealthy. There are drives on the market that contain their own ID scanner that can read fingerprints. Once you’re ready to lock down the data, you simply scan your own fingerprint once and the drive will use it to identify you and lock out intruders. Unless they have a duplicate set of your fingerprints, but that’s another story all together. You can be confident that no one else can access your data with these amazing drives. And if you want others to access it, it can handle up to 10 unique fingerprint IDs, so everyone that is supposed to access the data can.

These are just a few of the many USB sticks on the market today that aren’t what they appear to be. Because the actual drives are so small, they lend themselves well to becoming anything a savvy designer can think of. So, the next time you’re using an innocent looking lighter, perhaps you should wonder if it too leads a secret life as a USB flash drive

If you’re an event planner who regularly schedules and sets up seminars, workshops and conferences, then you know the nightmare of ensuring that all the meeting materials end up in the hands of attendees.
In the past, this meant shipping hundreds of pounds of printed materials to the conference site, finding table space to lay it all out and having enough staff on hand to ensure that each attendee got all the materials.

More often than not, it was a sea of printed matter, along with CDs, DVDs and other takeaways that were expensive to produce, expensive to ship to the conference and expensive for attendees to take with them.
Flash drives are a delightful alternative, saving you time, money and space. It also saves your attendees money on the flight home, since they don’t have to pay often outrageous additional bag fees with airlines to lug all the materials home. They can even carry your flash drive on the plane with them and spend the trip home reviewing everything they learned.

Since the material can be created so that it is searchable, flash drives also offer the recipient the chance to review materials as they wish, rather than having to thumb through linear pieces of printed matter to locate the one thing they really wanted to know.

Best of all, everything can be stored in one portable medium, from the meeting notes and speaker presentations to video demos, Q&As and more. And if your attendees are willing to wait for their drive, you can even pre-load videos of the each presentation onto the drive along with candid photos of receptions and conference events.
Additional items can include:

- Presenter biographies
- Technical papers and white papers
- Links to post conference content on the web
- A directory of all attendees and presenters
- Sponsor links and marketing materials
- Information on other upcoming conferences, seminars and workshops

Feedback forms
This is really just the tip of the iceberg and the actual materials included on the USB stick can really be anything imaginable.

You could even send the USB flash drive to the attendee along with their registration confirmation ahead of time and include all the pre-meeting information they need, the schedule of events, speaker bios, a map of the meeting facility, suggestions about what to bring, etc.

Once attendees arrive, they can return the USB flash drives to you on the first day, giving you time to reload new information onto them that is specific to the meeting. Or you can send them after the event with all the keynote videos and photo memories.

This has the added benefit of allowing you to double the branding potential of the USB flash drive, sending the drive to the attendee, letting them use it until the meeting for their planning purposes and then returning it to them at the end with new information on it.
If you do use the before-after approach with USB flash drive information, be sure to let your attendees know ahead of time so they don’t load additional information onto the drive they are bringing to the meeting. This also has the added benefit of not having to reunite USB flash drives with specific attendees, saving you invaluable time and money.

Just be sure to bring additional USB flash drives with you. There’s always those in attendance who forget to bring theirs with them and you don’t want to be caught short. Usually, having a 10% overage is sufficient to cover the forgetful ones.

A strong brand connection
Flash drives are a great promotional item because they get a lot of use. They rarely end up in a junk drawer. Instead, the recipient uses them at home, at work and everywhere in between to carry, transfer and share data, from family photos and music to department projects and homework. They are used every day in every way imaginable. And with them goes your logo and brand message. 

They are highly prized
Let’s face it. How many key chains or koosh balls can one person have? With USB flash drives, one is never enough. They are instantly recognised as being valuable to the recipient and having several is far better than having one (and one on a key ring is particular welcomed). 

An easy sell
Almost every promotional item outside of USB flash drives is static. In other words, the item has your logo and message printed on the outside of it, but that’s it. With flash drives, however, you can preload your sales materials onto it, from self-running presentations and catalogues to product sheets and website links. These can even be setup to run automatically the first time the recipient inserts the drive into their PC. We’d like to see a flying disc or baseball hat do that! 

Small package with big potential
The size of the USB flash drive has two big bonuses. First, it’s easy for the recipient to carry around with them on a daily basis and second; a lot of them can be shipped for a small amount of money. If you’ve ever shipped a thousand mugs from Point A to Point B you know how costly that can be. A thousand USB flash drives, however, one small box. 

Relatively cheap
Flash drives aren’t the most inexpensive promotional item out on the market today, true. Mugs, key rings and hats are all less expensive, particularly in quantity. But the base cost is only part of the equation. When comparing the items, you have to factor in the cost of printing, shipping, storage and warehousing (when no one wants another ball cap or mug). These can quickly make USB flash drives as affordable if not more so, particularly if you order the versions with less storage. Plus, you have to factor in the cost of having any promotional item miss its target, ending up in a drawer or in a kid’s toy chest. Cutting a few cents here and there can be the difference between having your message out in front of people every day and ending up in the toy chest next to Mr. Potato Head. 
 

When shopping for the next big thing in the promotional item, it’s often tempting to go with something breathtakingly new and fresh. But there’s always the inherent danger that today’s trendy gift becomes next week’s corporate joke. Koosh balls flying around the office were never appreciated. And you certainly don’t want your promotional item (and by inference your brand) to become the next item reviled by bosses everywhere.

Bespoke USB sticks are extremely popular these days. Not to be confused with standard shaped USB flash drives, Bespoke USB memory sticks can be made into any shape imaginable, from your logo to a replica of your product.

Any shape is possible, including 2-D and 3-D drives, in any colour imaginable. The only restriction is that the drive has to be big enough to hold the flash memory module and the standard USB connector that allows it to be connected to your computer. Fortunately, the custom drive company you hire can help you with the design to ensure that these constraints are taken into account.

While there are plenty of companies out there these days that will print your logo on a standard flash drive or memory stick, there are far fewer who will do custom design and production. That’s because custom drives require a larger skill set, including the ability to work with suppliers to integrate the electronics and the custom casing into a dependable yet affordable product.

If you want your company to really stand out in a market that is often flooded with generic flash drives, you might want to consider going with a custom flash drive product. While it will take some extra effort on your part to articulate your idea and review designs, the results can be well worth it, even with the higher unit cost of a custom memory stick.

So how do you find a dependable supplier for your Bespoke USB drives?

First, it’s important to find a company that actively promotes custom drive designs on their website or in their catalogue. This will be the first sign that they have the experience and expertise to create a custom drive design for you. It’s not important that they actually manufacture these drives on-site. Most companies farm this process out to factories in the Far East these days. What is important is that they understand the design process and how to integrate the electronics into the design you have in mind. Offering your target audience a drive that will fall apart or fail isn’t smart marketing and going for the cheapest product out there is an invitation to these kinds of promotional item disasters.

As you work with your design team they’re bound to make some recommendations or changes to your design. Consider each of them, as they may either be necessary or add features you may not have thought of initially. This may include a loop for a lanyard or a locking top to protect the USB connector from becoming damaged. A great promotional item company will have this kind of working knowledge of the products and how to best execute your idea.

Before you get too far into the process, you will want to request some samples of their past custom drive work. This is the best indicator of the kind of quality they demand and their capabilities. If a company is cagey about showing you samples, you may want to look elsewhere because you just may be their first custom USB drive customer. Given the importance of promotional campaigns, you never want to be someone’s guinea pig.

Finally, you want to discuss the electronics that are used in the drives. The memory chips are graded A through D and you want to know what grade of chips are in your drive. It’s not to say that a B grade is bad, just that it didn’t live up to the quality assurance process of a Grade A chip. Usually, the lower the grade, the more likely a chip can fail, have slow read/write speeds or not be able to fully access the level of memory advertised. Get the best grade you can afford and if at all possible, get products with Grade A chips. You won’t regret it.

The best advice of all is to do your homework before you order a large batch of custom USB drives that may not meet your expectations. And if you have the luxury of a few extra dollars in your budget along with time, you may want to order up a small batch first before ordering thousands. A lot of custom memory stick and USB flash drive companies offer production rates as low as 100 units.

Computers continue to get smaller. New ideas like netbooks continue to redefine modern computing. Unfortunately, the computer mouse hasn’t always kept up with this revolution, and most full featured mice are too big and bulky to cart around.

Early attempts at creating a portable mouse relied on making an existing design smaller. Unfortunately, these mini mice didn’t fit well into the hand and the buttons felt cramped. Worse, they didn’t always track well, causing the cursor to jerk across the screen.

The new generation of pokket mice are much more ergonomic. More important, they are small enough to fit in your pocket yet deliver a full sized mouse experience.

The secret is the shape. Instead of making a mouse designed to fit in your palm smaller, these new pocket mice are thin and rectangular, providing you with a tremendous amount of precision, and most important, comfort.

The Pokket Mouse from the USB Company is a good example of thoughtful design combined with great features. The mouse uses an optical tracking system so you don’t have to worry about the surface you’re working on. The optical system is extremely accurate. It is also low maintenance since you don’t have to keep it squeaky clean like the old roller mice.

It’s also extremely portable. Measuring just 13 x 50 x 84 mm, the Pokket Mouse fits easily into a shirt or pants pocket. A travel pouch is included to help keep the electronics clean. It’s not really necessary, but it is a nice touch.

For those wanting to make a powerful presence with their promotional and branding efforts, the Pokket Mouse is a perfect choice. The mouse comes in your choice of blue, white, black and red. For added impact, your logo lights up with a simple touch of the mouse so your marketing message is always visible, even in a darkened aircraft cabin.

Don’t be put off by its small size. The Pokket Mouse is full featured and a delight to use. It can go anywhere your laptop or netbook goes and will always offer dependable and precise tracking and clicking, so you can enjoy your computing experience without having to work on a trackpad all the time. As anyone knows, trackpads look like a cool innovation, but if you’re used to working with a mouse day in and day out, a trackpad can feel alien and greatly reduce your productivity.
If you’re looking for a high value, high impact promotional item for your next event or campaign, consider the Pokket Mouse.

Since they continue to be so useful, both at home or the office, mouse mats make a really good gift item. If you’re looking for a smart choice for a promotional item, what’s better than having your logo or message constantly in view at the recipient’s place of work? For 8 or more hours a day, your message is constantly working for you, reminding prospects, customers and clients that you’re here to meet their needs.

If you’re looking for a promotional mouse mat for today’s input devices, you want to think about the thickness and the skid-resistant qualities of the item. These qualities are important. First, a mouse mat that is too thick won’t allow the ball of your hand to move with the mouse or to lift and stretch to reach a button on a trackball. Like the proverbial story of The Three Bears, a mouse mat that is too thin may save you a few pennies, but it won’t provide support and comfort for the recipient. When shopping for a mouse mat to give away as a promotional item, you want one that is “just right.”

If you want to help the recipient avoid repetitive strain, you may want to opt for a soft mat with a built-in wrist support. The end of the mouse mat is thicker than the section where the mouse goes. This thicker padding helps prevent repetitive strain injuries, which will be greatly appreciated by the recipient.
While we’re talking about quality of the mouse mat, here’s one more helpful hint. Don’t get one that has a textured top surface. These were great in the days of rolling mice, but the newest generation of laser mice don’t perform as well on them. The mouse should roll smoothly across and not bind. The tracking with a laser mouse is much more precise on a smooth surface.
The reverse is true for the underside of the mouse mat. You want the bottom to stay where it’s put on the desk or table. Nothing’s worse than having a mouse mat that moves around as easily as the mouse that’s on top of it. A good non-skid backing will do just fine.

If you’re looking for a fun mouse mat, consider one of the aqua mouse mats out on the market. These mouse mats have liquids inside of them that change the look of the mouse mat constantly. You can even add glitter or small metallic shapes if you’d like.

One thing you can count on. Mouse mats are here to stay. They are a great promotional item that your prospects, customers and clients will use in the most innovative ways while your branding message stays in front of them throughout the workday.

If your company likes to put a little something extra in their stockings, there are plenty of great new promotional items out this year that any stocking-stuffing Santa would be proud to give out.

One of the most practical but stylish gifts this year is USB sticks that double as wristbands. This allows the user to always have some extra memory with them to swap out files, share images or make quick backups before leaving the home or office. Since they snap right onto your wrist, they are always handy.
If you’re looking for an extra stocking stuffer, USB sticks in a wrap around wristband are a good choice that everyone will love. Plus, you can get them in an array of colours, which adds to their perceived value as a holiday gift.

As anyone knows, holiday memories are made to last and a digital photo frame is a great way to display them. These photo frames let you thank an employee for a job well done while keeping your message front and centre as the recipient shows others their cherished holiday photos.

Of course, the holidays don’t have to be all about practical gifts. If you want to show your fun side, USB massagers are all the rage right now. These massagers plug right into the USB port of any computer and give the recipient a little refreshing mid-day buzz to keep their hands from cramping from a long day of crunching numbers or finishing reports.

Another popular item this holiday season are branded USB powered speakers. These little marvels sound great and are the perfect gift for employees who are travelling on business regularly. You can choose from a wide range of powered speakers, including the new USB Vase Speakers that are perfect for laptops. They even light up, adding beauty and function to the recipient’s workday, whether they are in the office, at home or on the road.

Another thoughtful gift that’s sure to get lots of use is a 4-port USB Hub. Even with a desktop system there never seems to be enough USB ports these days, and it’s even truer with notebooks and laptops. One of the nice things about the newest USB hubs is that they are backwards compatible, so you can enjoy the speed of USB 2.0 while still using the hub with a USB 1.1 compliant computer.
Some of the newer hubs are really small, which makes them the perfect accessory for those that love their portable, anywhere lifestyle. These hubs also do a few new tricks. For example, some of the newest promotional item USB hubs have a time and date function. It can even tell you the temperature. Printed with your logo, this 4-port USB Hub is sure to be a hit with those lucky enough to receive one.

Whether you’re looking to add a little fun to your employee’s stockings or simply saying thank you for all their hard work in the past year, there are plenty of great USB promotional items out there to choose from. No matter what you choose, your employees will almost certainly be thrilled to be on Santa’s list this year.

The built-in digital amplifier has mega bass and there is a power on/off switch and volume up/down control so you can manage the speaker sound levels in addition to those on your computer.
The construction is superb. The housings are brushed black aluminium. Your logo can be imprinted on the top of each speaker, giving your brand a lot of visibility. Each set of speakers comes boxed with a clear window that displays your logo, another strong branding opportunity.

The USB mini speakers are USB powered if you want to use these speakers on your computer system. Just plug them into an available USB port and viola! – booming stereo. If you want to connect it to a Zune, iPod or similar mp3 or mp4 device, you’ll need an external power supply.

The minimum order is usually 200 sets of speakers. Not bad, since you can use these as special premium giveaways with solid prospects or your best customers.

Believe us, you’ll want to get more than 200. These speakers will become extremely popular with your target audience and they will be clamouring to get them from you.

Digital photo frames have been around for several years now, but it wasn’t until recently that they became more affordable and had quality equal to that of a traditional photo.
Of course, not all digital photo frames are created equally. While many look great on the surface, they can be impossibly difficult to use. Or worse, the colours are flat or the contrast is so lacklustre, it looks like you’re looking at pictures of a total eclipse.

This is particularly true of the many digital photo frames that are making their way into the branding arena these days. Many of them look good on a website or in a catalogue, but they fail to deliver where it really matters: making a brand memorable once the item is in the hands of a prospect or a valued customer.
Let’s face it. Quality counts. Even the most innovative or valued promotional item will end up in a drawer somewhere if it doesn’t deliver. Digital photo frames are no different. And a poor quality item speaks ill of your organization, so why even risk going with an inferior item.

Fortunately, there are some great products out there, and this 2.4 inch digital photo frame is a real charmer. Perfect for the desk at the office or at home, this frame has the quality of some of the latest large screen digital photo frames in a very personal size.
The 2.4-inch TFT colour display is very pleasing to the eye. Mounted in a beautiful metal frame, the screen can display up to 60 different 320×240 pixel images in its built-in memory. These images can be in BMP or JPG formats, which are the most common image formats out there today. If you want, you can even set the photos to change as a slideshow automatically.

But don’t think the great features end there. This branded digital photo frame has a few more tricks up its sleeves. In addition to displaying photos, the frame also has a clock and calendar feature built into it.
A rechargeable lithium battery provides power, so those lucky enough to receive one of your digital photo frames can enjoy the item for a long time. Recharging is simple and easy, as is the process for loading images into the frame.

The frame itself comes in four designer colours: silver, black, blue and pink. In addition to a printed logo, it’s also possible to get a three-dimensional metallic logo embossed on the frame, if you’d like.
The minimum order is just 100 frames, which is a welcomed feature in itself. For something so unique, it is a very reasonable minimum quantity and quite frankly, you’ll probably want to order more because they will go fast.

One thing’s for sure. Digital photo frames will never end up in the forgotten pile of premium gifts clients and prospects receive. They are a terrific investment and this digital photo frame in particular is at the head of the pack in terms of value and quality.

If you read the headline then you probably did a double take. No, you’re not looking at a keying error. Some of the newest, most innovative USB flash drives are beginning to take on new persona, from a friendly doctor to a savvy businessman.

Looking a bit like a Lego creation, these the cute little characters not only offer additional storage in a super small package, but further your branding by creating a memorable promotional product that keeps you top of mind with your clients.

The USB People drives range in size from 512 MB all the way up to 8 gigs and are fully USB 2.0 compliant. They work great on any computer system, including all the various incarnations of Windows and Mac.

If you’re in the medical profession or in business, you can order stock versions of the USB People and have your logo or message imprinted on them. Stock versions include a businessperson, doctor, nurse and dentist.

If you’re looking for something custom, that’s entirely possible too. Imagine USB People flash drives that are sports teams, construction workers, delivery people or any number of other highly recognisable characters. You can even mix and match them, creating entire teams of USB People, ready to provide your customers and employees with handy, portable and virtually indestructible storage.

One of the great things about USB People drives is that they are highly collectible and highly prized by those lucky enough to receive one. Don’t be too surprised if you find these smart promotional products gracing the offices, cubicles and work areas of your customers. They can provide you with the competitive advantage you need to make your brand memorable in a very crowded marketplace.

USB People is just one of the many new innovations in USB flash drive designs and it is certainly one of the most creative. Depending on the model you select, users either remove the cover on the feet or the head to expose the USB 2.0 port, which can be docked right into your computer, a keyboard with USB connectivity or a USB hub.

If you think the engineering of these drives isn’t top notch, think again. Inside these USB People drives is the same high quality components found in any USB flash drive today. They will continue to operate in virtually any climate or condition. There’s even an LED light to let you know when the drive is transferring data and the drives stand up on their own two feet, literally.

One of the great things about these USB People flash drives is they can show off your company’s sense of humour and sense of fun. This is perfect for medical practitioners and law firms, where the actual work is very serious. The drives show you have a lighter side that goes beyond the visits to the office.

How can you use them to drive business or promote your brand? For example, you can use the nurse version as a give-away during Nurses Appreciation Week or use the doctors to promote a new health program or service. The possibilities are virtually limitless.

At 7.5cm tall, they fit in just about any pocket yet aren’t so small that you could possibly misplace them. After all, compared to a bland, basic USB flash drive, a small doctor, nurse or other professional is pretty hard to misplace on a desk, purse or counter.

One of the great things is that even a custom design has a relatively low minimum order. Depending on the company, you can order as few as 250 pieces in order to get a custom design in your choice of colours and professions. For stock designs, the quantity is even lower, often just 50 units.

Add some new staff to your workforce in the guise of USB People and watch your customers clamour to collect their favourites with one of the most innovative promotional product ideas to come along in some time.