Asus has pushed the humble thumb drive a step closer to a pocket SSD with the Adol High Speed Solid State USB Drive, or PM310. The Asus PM310 portable SSD is pitched as one tiny device that can move files between older USB-A machines and newer USB-C gadgets without adapters, while delivering speeds that leave basic flash drives in the dust.
That middle ground is getting crowded. Compact solid-state drives have become a handy answer to the mess of mixed ports across phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops, and Asus is clearly aiming at users who want SSD-like convenience without carrying a cable zoo.
Dual USB-A and USB-C design
The PM310 uses a dual-connector layout: USB-A on one end and USB-C on the other. That means it can plug straight into an older desktop on one side and then hop over to a modern smartphone, tablet, or laptop on the other, with no dongle awkwardness.
Asus wraps the drive in a metal body measuring 82 x 20 x 7.5 mm and weighing 42.9 g. There is also a built-in flip cap to cover the connectors when the drive is stashed in a bag, pocket, or that one drawer where adapters go to disappear forever.
500MB/s read speed and broad support
Under the hood, the PM310 uses USB 3.2 Gen 2 and Asus says it can hit sequential read speeds of up to 500MB/s. That is slower than a full-size external SSD, but it is still a solid number for a compact drive built around convenience first.
Compatibility is broad too. Asus says the drive supports plug-and-play use across macOS, Android, HarmonyOS, and iOS or iPadOS, which makes the product more versatile than the average storage stick that only behaves properly on one kind of device.
Asus PM310 price and storage options
The PM310 comes in four capacities, starting at 128GB and topping out at 1TB. Pricing in China is set at 280 yuan ($41) for 128GB, 409 yuan ($60) for 256GB, 629 yuan ($92) for 512GB, and 959 yuan ($141) for 1TB.
- 128GB – 280 yuan ($41)
- 256GB – 409 yuan ($60)
- 512GB – 629 yuan ($92)
- 1TB – 959 yuan ($141)
Colorful has also been busy in the same portable-storage lane with the RP600X Pro, a drive rated at up to 1000MB/s and support for Apple ProRes recording. That kind of overlap suggests the compact SSD segment is shifting from bland accessory territory into a real spec race, even if most buyers will still care more about whether the thing works everywhere than whether it wins a benchmark chart.
The bigger question is whether Asus will keep the PM310 positioned as a China-only convenience device or push the formula wider. Dual-port storage is an easy concept to explain and an even easier one to sell, so expect more brands to copy the idea if this one gets traction.