It's not like we haven't seen ritzy USB drives before, but we can't say we expected the relatively conservative Philips to join forces with a top name in the glitz industry and kick out a couple of very superfluous devices. Partnering with Swarovski, the duo is loosing the Active Crystals collection of 1GB USB drives (and sparklin' headphones, too) onto the fashion-conscience set, and aside from sporting a variety of crystal-clad exteriors, they're pretty vanilla everywhere else. Of course, we can't imagine these straying too far from the velvet bag you'll surely tote it around in, and using this out in the mad, mad world probably isn't advisable, but you can still make the lady friend in your life joyous by handing her one of these yet-not-priced luxuries come August.

Sony today announced a new camera with built-in microphone accessory for the PlayStation 3. The PlayStation Eye is set to debut this summer and builds off of the EyeToy USB camera for the PlayStation 2.

The PlayStation Eye, said Sony, is a USB camera which is designed to work specifically with the PlayStation 3. This digital camera with a built-in noise-cancelling microphone is geared for those who want to communicate with others through the PlayStation Network via functions such as voice, video chat and social gaming.

Features of the PlayStation Eye include a frame rate of up to 120fps, an adjustable zoom lens with a wide degree of view, multidirectional voice location tracking in the microphone, media editing software with the ability to save videos directly to the PS3''s hard drive and two positions in the zoom lens to capture close-up or full body shots.

“With the release of PlayStation Eye we will be able to dramatically enhance the consumer's PS3 experience,” said Richard Marks, research and development at Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a statement. “Beyond audio/video chat and the ability to save videos to your PS3 hard drive, PlayStation Eye opens up a whole new world of entertainment options and adds a new dimensions to games across multiple genres.”

Special thanks to Digitaltrends.com for this story !

On the go types that use their mobile gadgets and electronics a lot know that keeping them going until you find an AC outlet can be a problem. A company called TACHIMA has a mobile solar battery charger that could help you in your quest for more run time. The charger can recharge MP3 players, AAA NiCd and NiMH rechargeable batteries, and Bluetooth devices and has the ubiquitous USB output. The USB output means you can use it to recharge the vast majority of cell phones on the current market. The solar power is only .5W but it is able to output the full 5V, 150mA USB power requirement. The AAA output is 1.5V, 300 mA. Too bad that the batteries aren’t the more useful AA size but otherwise this compact device looks pretty cool. No word on pricing or availability.

Special thanks to Everythingusb.com for this story !

While the poker sharks in the crowd are probably elated about the recent WSOP in HD news, we're going double or nothing with Memorex's Poker Chip Flash Drive. This 1GB device sports a design that any chip stacker would appreciate, and aside from giving you something to flip between your nervous fingers when pondering a fold, it also includes “software to play Texas Hold 'Em right from your PC.” Additionally, a blue LED lights things up when data is being accessed, and while we're not exactly sure how much you'll have to wager in order to claim one as your own, they'll be situated in Target stores by the end of the month.

Special thanks to Swik.net for this story !

Usually what ruins your flash drive and the data on it is your mistake from washing it and drying it in your jeans pocket to leaving it in your car on a hot day or dropping it in the toilet. If you have ever done one of these things and ruined your flash drive the guys over at Popular Mechanics have taken a trio of flash drives and put them through a torture test regime that includes cooking them in a 200 degree toaster oven, dunking them in water for 60 seconds and doing a full wash and dry in the pocket of a pair of jeans. The Wallet Flash 2GB drive made it through all tests unscathed, while the Lexar 1GB JumpDrive Mercury looked bad it still worked and the final drive was the Corsair 8GB Flash Voyager which did well until the cap came off in the wash meaning the end for the Flash voyager.

Special thanks to Everythingusb.com for this story !

EPOS has a Digital Pen and USB flash drive that sounds pretty interesting that is set to launch this spring. The pen writes and draws on any paper just like a normal pen does. The geeky coolness comes in with the flash drive which the pen automatically and wirelessly sends what you write or draw to for storage. Once your text or diagrams are stored on the flash drive you can connect it to your PC and save the data as an image or as text when used with any hand-writing recognition software. The pen and flash drive are said to be able to maintain wireless connectivity at up to ten feet apart. At launch in July the flash drive will have 512MB of storage space, which is said to be enough storage for hundreds of written pages. After launch higher capacity versions may be offered. Pricing is currently set at around $80. This device sounds much better than the Logitech Io pens.

Special thanks to Everythingusb.com for this story !

If you have lots of unsightly wires from your USB goodies running around your desk and you want to tidy them up a bit Mr. P can help. Mr. P pities the fool who has wires snaking around so much that he allows you to tie him up with the wires. Mr. P’s real name is One Man Tied and he comes in white or orange. You wrap your cables around him and clip the end into his mouth. There is nothing like some bondage for your desktop to get clean up your desktop image. Pricing for One Man Tied is $12 and he is available now. However the device is currently sold out in both colors but they are taking backorders now for shipping at an unspecified later date.