By the end of this month, Moser Baer, a digital storage and media company, plans to release a tranch of 1 lakh USB drives, with Bollywood content pre-loaded. They'll begin with films like Khosla ka Ghosla, Dev D, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Padosan, Andaaz Apna Apna, Kaminey, Shaurya, Fashion, Iqbal and A Wednesday etc. What's particularly interesting is that the company says that the 4GB drives can be erased by customers, to be used as a regular USB. USB drives that are pre-loaded with content are priced at Rs. 850 for 4GB, although they're being retailed for Rs. 680 on Moser Baer's online store. In comparison, Moser Baer drives without content are being retailed for Rs. 700, and available online for Rs. 595. Going by the website, it appears that there is just one movie per drive, so you're paying Rs. 150 extra for a movie (or Rs. 85 if you buy online). We also just checked with a vendor at Nehru Place, and a blank Kingston 4GB pen drive is available for Rs. 370. These are factors which consumers might consider, so why the significant mark-up? Moser Baer plans to also introduce 8GB and 16GB drives, which will be retailed via its pan-India retail outlets. The company manufactures CDs and DVDs, and had previously tied up with several Bollywood producers to retail legal movies on CD and DVD. Moser Baer also introduced Micro-SD cards earlier this year, pre-loaded with content. We've contacted Moser Baer for information on whether the content…
