The Cruzer Freedom is a USB flash drive from SanDisk that lets students carry secure and legal Internet downloads of textbooks, novels, study aids, learning tools and other copyrighted content. Powered by a proprietary SanDisk technology called FlashCP (Flash Content Processor), this “digital backpack” that can store educational materials as well as any personal content such as MP3 files, digital pictures or computer data files. Cruzer Freedom will be offered at an introductory capacity of 256 megabytes for a price of $39.99.

Out of the box, the Cruzer Freedom comes with two caps — one with a lanyard for wearing around the neck and the other with a key ring for securing to backpacks and key chains. When a student plugs a Cruzer Freedom for the first time into a PC that is connected to the Internet, the device is initialized and can access the SanDisk Online Catalog. The student can then select content for downloading, and the content is secured to that specific drive. Digital books are interactive, so text can be highlighted, annotated and searched. Many titles, including dictionaries and study guides, are offered for free.