Iomega’s solid state flash drive with USB 3.0 is 10x faster than USB 2.0. As a flash drive there is also no moving parts and makes for a very reliable storage device as well. The prices have come way down from unaffordable to yes its more than a disk drive but reasonable considering the benefits of speed and reliablity, power consumption, size and weight as well.
I spotted an Iomega 128gb solid state drive at B&H at 256.48.