USB-C seems to get more widely used with every passing day - ASUS's new ZenFones all have USB-C charging ports - and that is no more apparent than when SanDisk, a major manufacturer of storage devices (until Western Digital acquired the company last month) announces new USB-C flash drives, with a normal USB-A port on the other end for convenient movement of files.

The new flash drives, catchily named "SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C flash drives," are faster (thanks to USB 3.1), reversible, and have multiple purposes, according to the vice president of SanDisk product marketing at Western Digital, Dinesh Bahal. While more and more smartphones are using the connector to charge the battery, very few laptops have USB-C ports at the moment, making a full-size USB a necessity, at least for the time being. Each connector is retractable, using a little nub on the side, meaning both cannot be out at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUa3Sglti8U

That 'normal USB' port should make it easy to transfer files over from a laptop (with a USB-A port) to a phone (with a USB-C port). SanDisk Memory Zone, available on the Play Store, will help with this. The app launches when the drive is connected, showing the content that is being stored, allowing it to be uploaded to the cloud or moved onto the device itself.

The new drives are available at Amazon and other retailers. Western Digital says they will be priced at $19.99 for 16GB, $29.99 for 32GB, $39.99 for 64GB, and $69.99 for 128GB. However, on Amazon.com I'm seeing the drives for considerably less - $14.99 for 16GB, $19.99 for 32GB, $32.99 for 64GB, and $55.99 for 64GB - although they're currently out of stock. It remains to be seen whether these prices stay or will be adjusted as they go on sale.