SanDisk Introduces Cruzer Contour USB Flash Drive

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, Jan. 8, 2024 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today introduced Cruzer Contour, a USB flash drive with the elegant look and feel of a fine fountain pen or wristwatch. The elegance extends inside Cruzer Contour, with state-of-the-art engineering, support for Windows ReadyBoost, and, a generous gallery of pre-installed U3 software applications. Cruzer Contour was unveiled during a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show, where SanDisk is demonstrating products in Booth #36206, South Hall 4 in the Las Vegas Convention Center. What especially sets apart Cruzer Contour, with its glossy black top and silver metallic body, is the drive’s unique sliding USB connector. Using your thumb to slide the top of Cruzer Contour back and forth brings out or hides the connector – there’s no visible switch, and no cap to lose.

Cruzer Contour will be available in the United States in March in three models with suggested retail pricing of $89.99 for 2GB, $149.99 for 4GB and $239.99 for 8GB. The drive will be available in Europe, Asia Pacific and Australia in the second quarter of 2024. Cruzer Contour provides the greatest capacity yet for a SanDisk flash drive, offering as much as 8 GB of storage. And Cruzer Contour delivers a write speed of 18 MB/sec, double the performance of SanDisk’s previous top-of-the-line model. Read speed for Cruzer Contour is two-thirds faster, at 25 MB/sec. This translates into significantly less waiting, whether loading data into the Cruzer Contour or copying data from the drive into a computer.

The sliding USB connector requires nothing more than two flicks of the thumb. Sliding the top back and then forward brings out the connector, while sliding the top forward and then back pulls in the connector. Although no bigger than previous SanDisk flash memory drives, Cruzer Contour has the weightiness and cool metallic feel associated with fine luxury goods.

“Flash drives are already widespread with an expected 114 million drives to ship this year, and people want their flash drives to be an extension of their personality,” said Joseph Unsworth, Principal Research Analyst for flash memory at the Gartner research firm. “Design and fashion sense are now a significant factor in selecting one flash drive over another. This is a familiar consumer pattern and is evident in the evolution of the mobile phone. As the handset market proliferated, consumers wanted products that appeal to them providing a means for manufacturers to differentiate themselves by targeting specific segments of users. We now see this trend migrating to USB flash drives as manufacturers enable a ‘portable personality’ for users.”