Sony have announced their range of stylish, super slim USB Type-C flash drives. Offering the very latest USB connection standard and encased in a silver metal body, these flash drives look as good as they perform.

Available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, the USM-CA1 series come with both Type-C and Type-A USB connectors. This means the drives are both future proofed and backwards compatible so you won't have to worry about buying additional adaptors.

These tiny pen drives come with a silicon cover which adds protection and the strap hole on top provides a convenient way for attaching it to a keyring or lanyard.

With more and more devices moving to USB Type-C such as the latest Apple Macbooks and pretty much every new Google device available right now (e.g. Nexus and Pixel devices), you'll need a flash drive that supports this new standard.

This is where Sony's Microvault USM-CA1 series come in.

So what is USB Type-C anyway?

USB Type-C simply refers to the connector type. The most recognisable USB connector is Type-A. This is the rectangular connector found on millions of devices around the world. The standardisation of this connector is what makes USB so ubiquitous.

The Type-C connector sets to change that with a simple yet key design innovation. The connector is reversible meaning you no longer have to double check whether you are putting it in the right way or not.

USB Type-C shouldn't be confused with data transfer speeds however. Having a Type-C connector doesn't automatically mean you'll be getting the fastest USB transfer speeds available.

Just as well then that Sony's USM-CA1 series are USB 3.1 Gen 1 rated which gives a data transfer read speed of 130 MB/s (that's Mega Bytes not Mega Bits!).

Launch date and prices

The flash drives are available now but so far stock appears to be fairly limited in the UK so you might struggle to get your hands on one.

Amazon are taking orders and they'll deliver them as soon as they're available.