Posted October 20, 2005
You know USB flash drives—those little thumb-sized portable storage devices that plug into the USB port of computers and allow you to carry all your files around with you? Well, it was inevitable that a clever designer somewhere would turn them into little fetishistic design objects. What I didn't see coming (but which, in retrospect, also seems inevitable) was that USB drives would merge with the whole Japanese-inspired designer toy trend. The perversely adorable Mimobot from Mimoco is, in the word of its creators, a "little friendly data fiend" that stands two inches high and comes in a variety of capacities (256 MB to 1 GB) and personalities. Isadore (shown), for instance, was designed by Yahi Rodriguez, is Mac and Windows-PC compatible, comes in an edition of 500, and even includes a sound file containing an exclusive mix by cult drum-n-bass progenitor DJ DB. As long as you don't start talking to Isadore about how happy you are that she's keeping your spreadsheets safe in her belly, I think it's probably okay for you to own her.

$70-$140 at mimoco.com.

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• From the October 20, 2005 issue of New York