It is a lesson learned for all companies that give out USB drives with preloaded content – check your drives on your own systems first before handing them out. You want to make sure they are malware free while also making sure that the preloaded content is yours and not someone else’s.

Of course, choosing a reputable promotional company is the smartest way to prevent such a PR nightmare. IBM had to apologize in a letter sent to delegates, along with instructions for removing the malware, which was set up to run using setup.exe and autorun.ini files. Once the drive was inserted, the malware was automatically loaded onto the unsuspecting delegate’s computer. Unfortunately, the final instruction in the letter recommended reloading all the core operating system software, which, as everyone knows, is a nightmare.

If you’re contemplating the use of preloaded content on your USB flash drives, there’s no need to shy away from your plan. This is a great way to share sales materials, brochures, video demos, PowerPoints and other information with your prospects and clients.
With just a few precautions, you can confidently go with your original plan and preload content with confidence and success.

Double Check Your Source Files
As you prepare your marketing materials, make sure the computer you’re using isn’t already infected. Even if the factory checks the drives, you can accidentally transfer a virus through your own files. So double check them before sending them to the promotional company for integration and production into hundreds or thousands of USB flash drives.

Reconsider AutoRun
A file that automatically loads and runs may sound like a great idea from a marketing standpoint. The prospect or client automatically sees your marketing messages – very cool! But, there is a small risk that you can introduce malware. No matter how unlikely, you don’t want to have an IBM on your hands, sending out letters of apology for giving your contacts malware.

Choose a Reliable Supplier
The best way to prevent a problem is to hire a reputable supplier for your USB flash drives. They will be able to ensure that your disks aren’t infected at the manufacturer level so that you’re not stuck with a couple hundred or thousand branded USB flash drives that are infected and virtually useless.

Do Some Spot Checks
Once you receive your shipment of promotional USB flash drives, pick a couple out at random and run them on your own computer. Of course, you want to make sure you have the most up-to-date virus checker installed on your computer so that any of the latest incarnations of malware out there can’t slip through. You also want to make sure that the content that’s preloaded is yours and there wasn’t a mix up with another order.

With these simple precautions you should be able to continue to enjoy the power of preloaded content without the slightest fear of it backfiring on you. The real secret, of course, is to partner with a vendor who also has your best interests at heart. They may not be the lowest cost provider, but at least the low cost doesn’t include the cost of infecting your prospects and customers with malware.

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.

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.

Those of you that regularly purchase USB Memory sticks should be familiar with fluctuating prices. During 2007 and 2008 the prices for USB’s was relatively cheap due to a good exchange rate for the dollars and oversupply of flash memory. Today the prices are going up due to a weak pound and undersupply of flash memory in the market.

The main reasons is that Flash Producers invested heavily in production facilities  during 2006-07 which resulted in overcapacity and forced them to sell flash memory at prices below production cost to pay off their investment in production facilities.
This has scared them to invest in more equipment and now with increased demand the prices has escalated as the supply is lower than demand. This year alone the industry has grown by 100%, even in recession due to increased demand for flash in devices such as SSD (solid state hard drives) and mobile phones.

Its expected that the price will stabilise during 2010 and we also have new technology such as TLC – triple level cell and 4LC which is aimed at the more low tech devices so hopefully the manufacturers will be able to offer this for the promotional market at a more attractive price. There is no word on when these might be available as yet.

 Also we see that the higher capacity drives are not as affected by the price raise as the low capacity ones but of course in the promotional market is very cost conscious. On the other hand we see that higher capacity becomes more mainstream and that clients are willing to pay more for 2GB and upwards.

So to those of you in the market for Branded USB Memory sticks it might be wise to get your orders in sooner rather than later.
For the resellers its important to warn clients of price fluctuations so they are prepared.

On the upside this is something that affects everyone and this will affect everyone in the market so the competition will struggle with the same problems of rising purchase costs.

I hope this helps explain some of the story behind the price fluctuations in the market..

Johan Ellingsen
USB Company

With Christmas just around the corner, we’re all looking for those perfect gifts. Here at USB Company, we feel we may just have the answer.

A stunning blend of tradition and gadgetry, the USB Incenti-Pen combines the usefulness of a ballpoint pen, something everyone keeps a few of on their desk, with a high speed USB 2.0 memory stick. Send one or the other and you may win a bit of valuable desk space, and put a small smile on the recipient’s face, but combine the two and you’ve just given them a conversation piece; something that they will show their friends, family and colleagues.

One idea we like is to go for the Red Incenti-Pen, with either a Snowman or Christmas Tree printed on it, along with “Merry Christmas from”, followed either by your company name, or better yet, your logo. Alternatively, perhaps brand your company logo on one side of the pen, while having a festive theme on the other?

With 1GB or more of memory, the Incenti-Pen also makes an excellent gift for your own staff. You might even be generous enough to skip the company logo all together, and just send them a nice festive Christmas pen / USB stick. Then again, if they are getting incenti-pens for Christmas, they should be proud enough to work for you to want the logo!