Prepare the defibrillation paddles, for this little device of paper clamping simplicity is more than what it seems dear friends. The eClip is both a paper clip and a USB storage device. And those tick marks on the side? That’s a metric ruler–a wee one. We talked with Derrick Frohne, creator of the eClip, a device that has won the iDA Design Award & Golden A’ Design Award, slipping the bonds of design concept to become the only product of its kind to hold both physical and digital data, beside that NAS drive on your desktop you use as a paperweight.
The Frohne eClip
You can protect up to 8GB of data on the eClip with AES 256-bit encryption. It also brings you the power to venture into dangerous situations being completely water, shock, dust, electromagnetic and alcohol resistant. I’ve traded this in for the tube tied around my dog’s neck. Why has this product won the awards it has? We were curious what was behind the design and really, why we needed a better paperclip. “Frohne eClip is the world’s first versatile paper clip USB flash drive.” Derrick says, “[It] can be situated in a pocket, necklace, or in a binder folder. eClip protects your personal data, intellectual property, employer data, customer data, and trade secrets with security software [and] functions like a regular paperclip to organize your receipts, bills, money or other paper items.”
The eClip is an amalgamation of electronics and a paper clip, influenced by data and the storage of data. We use thumb drives to store data, but in many cases, it doubles as a method of backing up or saving personal information, intellectual property, employer data, customer data, trade secrets, and other sensitive data we don’t want people getting their grubby hands on. It’s up for debate if a physical drive carried on your person is the best way to protect data, but at least this gives you the option to hide your digital goods away in a safety deposit box without taking up much space.
To design the device, Derrick used hand drawings and Photoshop. The device came to market in December 2011. “The biggest challenge I faced was financial support at that time. I had to save every penny for a while to produce these eClip USB flash drives.” Derrick explains. “Another difficulty was being a full-time college student, working a normal job while building my company. I worked many hours, through the night sometimes until 6 or 7am the next morning.”
The effort has paid off as you can purchase the little device on many websites or nab yourself a single 8GB eClip for 18.99 USD on Frohneusa.com.
