Not quite the fastest drive on test, but above average in the transfer speeds stakes, Transcend's 4GB Jetflash drive offers respectable performance for the reasonable asking price of £30.

While it takes a long time to write files to the Pearl, reading from it is impressively swift. But that's not the unique thing about the Pearl. It's tiny - and comes with a stylishly simple necklace chain, so you can wear it as a piece of jewellery.

Could this be the death knell for mechanical hard disk drives? Always somewhat of an aberrant part of computer systems, it's the only fixed component in a PC to have moving parts. As beautiful in their reflective perfection...