SanDisk is evaluating the school market in Australia with a view to launching a smart new USB flash drive that replaces the need to lug school text books around.SanDisk is seeking to replace the shoulder crunching burden of school textbooks with a new USB flash drive with special content protection software for downloading and saving copyrighted material.

The Cruzer Freedom flash drive features SanDisk’s proprietary flash content processor (FlashCP) for securely downloading copy-protected material such as textbooks, novels and study aids. The drives can also store personalized, non-protected content.

The drive will be available in a single capacity (256MB)

The drive ships with a lanyard cap and a key ring cap for securing the drive to backpacks and key chains.

The first time a Cruzer Freedom drive is plugged into an Internet-connected PC, the device is initialized and can access the SanDisk Online Catalog of novels, textbooks and study aids.

In the US where the product has been launched the company is offering several free titles including Merriam-Webster’s Pocket Dictionary, a choice of one SparkNotesStudy Guide and classic literature. Students may also download a free 30-day trial of Microsoft Student Graphing Calculator software, specialized Web content such as HomeworkHub from Scholastic.com, and Web pages and learning modules created by educators. Content for sale includes textbooks and best-selling novels.