mimobot® USB Flash Drive
Review by: Jason Kessel

Let's face it, USB Flash storage devices are pretty common these days. They come in various forms and capacities. However, they all tend to still look the same. Basically, a tiny little plastic or metal stick-like shape with a USB plug. They all look pretty much the same.

mimoco has done something truly unique in the USB Flash storage device market. They've created the mimobot. A marriage of art and technology. Essentially what they've done is given the USB storage device some personality. It's a little hard to describe, but they basically they've encased the usual USB storage technology into a cute little body with a face. I've never seen anything like this before.

mimobots are available in three distinct flavors. The first are original mimoco creations: residents of the Planet blooh and drivers of the mimobot storyline, they are the mimobot Core Series. Second is the mimobot Artist Series, an ongoing collaboration delivering original designs by some of the finest contemporary character artists worldwide representing a cross-section of pop art genres. Third and finally are officially licensed crossovers of your favorite entertainment franchises like Star Wars, Halo, Domo and Happy Tree Friends. Most are available in 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacity. They all come with the standard USB 2.0 connector.

I reviewed the 4GB Boba Fett mimobot from the Star Wars franchise. Being a big Star Wars fan, I couldn't resist. Since mimobots don't require any drivers (unless you're running Windows 98SE), they truly are "plug-n-play". So it goes without saying, set up is a snap. I tested the mimobot on a Mac, so naturally the mimobot drive showed up on the desktop like any other storage device would. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the mimobot came preloaded with bonus removable media content such as a desktop personalization bundle that includes wallpaper, screensavers, avatars, the mimobot soundByte application, as well as animation, mini-games, music, and original video shorts. Very cool.

When testing the mimobot's capabilities, it does everything as advertised. Being USB 2.0, copying files to and from the devise is nice and fast. I also like the red LED "tail". It flickers when the drive is being accessed, so you know when the drive is being used. From a technical standpoint, mimobots are really no different than any other USB Flash storage product. However, their tiny size and cute looks is what makes them truly unique. Whether you're male or female, mimobots are fun to use. Every time I use my Boba Fett mimobot, people ask about it. It really is a conversation piece... even if you're not a computer geek. I smile every time I use it. You can't say that about most other USB Flash drives.

Available at: http://www.mimoco.com