Titanium Plus USB drive backs up online

Joining a host of early CES announcements, SanDisk has uncovered the Cruzer Titanium Plus, an upcoming USB flash drive. The stick holds up to 4GB, but its key selling point is intended to be simultaneous online backup; when users connect the drive, it can be set to automatically upload all material to a service run by BelnSync. Users must, of course, first enter a password, and it will not attempt an upload until a working Internet connection is detected.

Drawbacks to this feature include the fact that it requires Windows 2000, XP or Vista, and after six months backups are $30 per year, rather than free. The Plus should otherwise be usable as a regular drive however, and comes with optional password-protected AES encryption, plus two years of lost-and-found coverage from BoomerangIt. The drive's name refers to its metal case, which reduces the impact of crush damage. It should ship for $60 starting in March.