U3 Smart Drives Let Travelers Carry Software for Holiday Fun on Any PC; Digital Photos, Music, Internet Calling and IM No Longer Require Hauling a Laptop.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Holiday travelers can now carry software in their pockets, on key chains or inside purses -- on tiny U3 smart drives. Standing in security lines at airports, stowing baggage on planes and trains, and packing up the caravans has never been easier. U3 has invented a way for a tiny, removable USB smart drive to host a "personal workspace" that saves not only data and files but also software programs, user preferences and the means for managing them. U3 smart drives -- distinguished from ordinary flash drives by a U3 smart logo -- are newly available nationwide, just in time for holiday travel.

Consumers once had to choose between lugging a laptop or doing without essential applications for the duration of a trip. Now they can simply plug a U3 smart drive into the USB port of any borrowed PC to feel at home in their own personalized world of computing.

Take Your Home 'Photo Lab' Anywhere

The advent of U3 smart drives means that Aunt Ida, whose computer is back in Boise, can make photo-editing a family affair as she gathers everyone around Grandma's PC in Tucson. And Grandma doesn't have to worry about having unfamiliar software left on her pristine machine because once Aunt Ida removes the U3 smart drive, Ida's photo-editing software and photos will vanish. U3 smart software for photos from ArcSoft PhotoPrinter, FxFoto Portable Pictures by Triscape and Preclick PhotoBackPack can be found at Software Central.

Let the Digital Music Play

Having the popular Nullsoft Winamp player on a U3 smart drive is a convenient way to bring digital music to a holiday gathering. Consumers can just plug the U3 smart drive into the PC to launch Winamp to play music from their own collections or select from a wealth of radio stations -- including seasonal holiday offerings -- available for free through the player.

Live Chat and Internet Calling Goes Mobile

U3 smart drives also make it easy for travelers to use other PCs to conduct live chat and Internet calling. Devotees of Trillian, which unifies the popular AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo! Messenger and IRC, can download a U3 smart version of this software program. Skype(TM), the famed Internet calling application is also U3 smart. So no matter where consumers travel this holiday season, U3 smart drives will make sure they never miss a word.

"Our vision is to make personal computing truly portable so people are not tethered to one computer but instead are connected to software applications, files, preferences and computer settings wherever they go," said U3 Chief Executive Officer Kate Purmal. "This is the first holiday season where consumers can enjoy new freedoms offered by U3 as they travel without laptops but retain access to their applications

and preferences, even when working on someone else's PC. All of this, including the piece of hardware they carry around with them is about the size of a pack of gum. They can easily hang a U3 smart drive on their key chain."

U3 smart drives from Kingston(R) Technology Company, Memorex(R), SanDisk(R) Corp. and Verbatim(R) are easily recognizable by the U3 smart logo. They can be found in major consumer electronics and office supply stores nationwide. U3 smart software applications can be found at U3 Software Central -- located at www.u3.com or found through the U3 Launchpad interface on U3 smart drives.

About U3

U3 LLC of Redwood City, Calif., has developed an innovative platform to make USB smart drives that host a "personal workspace" -- not only data and files, but software programs, personal user preferences and the means for managing them. U3 powered smart drives transform a PC into a truly personalized computer, quickly, easily and securely, and exit transparently when done. U3, backed by USB flash drive market leaders M-Systems (NASDAQ:FLSH) and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), licenses its platform to USB drive manufacturers. For more information see www.U3.com.