Sandisk Memory Vault promises 100 years of photos

Sometimes, stuff just arrive at the YugaTech HQ without me knowing who sent them or where they come from. This is the case of the Sandisk Memory Vault — a ruggedized flash drive that promises to last your photos up to 100 years.

This is not your typical flash drive which you often use to store photos and videos or for transferring files around. The Memory Vault wants to be your digital bank on precious memories.

The Vault is purely made of metal (certainly not aluminum because it’s heavy) with a microUSB port on one side and a red LED light on the other.

The weight gives you a good idea on the solid build-quality of the portable drive (if you hold a pebble of the same size, I think this one is still heavier).

What’s funny though that in the age of really small micro-SD cards that carry up to 32GB of data, this large and heavy Sandisk Memory Vault only stores up to 8GB (there’s a 16GB variant). So you’re not really paying for the amount of storage here but the longevity of the drive.

In a recent study commissioned by Sandisk, it was revealed that during calamities such as a fire, people rush off to save their old photos ahead of most other items (including pets and relatives). This is the reason why Sandisk introduced the Memory Vault.

Problem is, there’s no way to really tell the integrity of the drive and if it can last a 100 years. The only thing I was able to check was the write speed which is around 8.8MB/s.

If you’re looking for durability, then an 8GB Sandisk Memory Vault that costs Php2,500 might not be that expensive. However, if you’re just looking to transfer files and carry then around then you might consider the more affordable ones.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

13 Comments

Bon says:

13 years ago

What a stupid gadget. My data will last 100 years on this??? In 5-10 years, USB drives (or “Vaults” or whatever) would most likely be obsolete. We all know that technology is ever-changing. So what’s the use of this?
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Ice says:

13 years ago

Mr. Yuga, I think aluminum is a kind of lightweight metal…Personally, I think this is not practical. I don’t think you’re going to need devices that could last a 100 years because at the pace technology is growing this probably would be obsolete in 10 years time hehe. Another thing is flash drives nowadays are quite sturdy.
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Iyan Sommerset says:

13 years ago

Dunno. 600 bucks buys a pretty good 8gb flash drive these days. For the price of this, that gets me 4. 1 on-site and 1 off-site and 2 more when the others fail. Sure, they won’t last a hundred years, but then neither will most humans.
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Alexandrious says:

13 years ago

Question, what’s wrong with an ordinary usb flash drive?
Are they saying that it won’t last that long?
I have a 3 yr old 4gb flash drive and it still works.
And yes I believe that Cloud storage would be more reliable than this overpriced flash drive….
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Tech Boi says:

13 years ago

Yuga, aluminum is still a metal. Maybe you’re referring to steel or a similar alloy?
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el toro bumingo says:

13 years ago

Grabe namang advertisement yan! Baka nga ‘di na uso flash drive 100 years from now :)
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Mac says:

13 years ago

I agree… for sure by that time, there will be other technologies that might make this device unusable. I think the best way to go for backup is on a cloud service, just make sure you get a reputable one or probably get 2. :)
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IC DeaDPiPoL says:

13 years ago

prefers an cloud based multiple online backup routine over this.

Also its still quite risky as a simple static burst can easily ruin the drive itself not to mention the longevity of the USB ports itself (quite hard to find a pc with comm ports nowdays)
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pinaysurfer says:

13 years ago

wow!,.this is very nice to know….
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tipler says:

13 years ago

“In a recent study commissioned by Sandisk, it was revealed that during calamities such as a fire, people rush off to save their old photos ahead of most other items (including pets and relatives). ”

Err… WTF? I dunno about everyone else but I’d prioritize my relatives above almost all material objects. Most certainly against photos.
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William C says:

13 years ago

Now all my grandchildren need is to find a computer with a microUSB port in 2111.

Or will my grandchildren need to implant a microUSB port into their heads to download the photo of my typing this message…

The vault might work might work in 100 years but the MicroUSB port will be gone in 10 years (20 at most)…

5 1/2″ Floppy anyone? Or do you install a 3 1/2 Floppy drive when you buy a new computer anymore? The USB is still around, but even that will be obsolete someday…
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William C says:

13 years ago

One more thing, even if they say it will last 100 years, I am sure their guarantee if it fails, is that they will replace it with another similar vault (sans contents)…

The best backup is still multiple copies (on DVDs, harddrive, Flash disk, and on a reputable cloud service)…

Benchmark says:

13 years ago

Well if you have old photos, one should scan them first in high def. But
Probably this is good for collection of installers and drivers you need for your pc.
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