SanDisk 2GB Cruzer Titanium USB Flash Pen Drive
December 30, 2007
Overview
With this 2 GB Titanium Drive, SanDisk has raised its bar again. Will this drive retain the durability, speed and the reliability of its 1 GB cousin? We tested the drive and this is what we have to say.
Design
The SanDisk titanium series scores pretty high in the design department. The retractable USB connector housed in the rugged Liquid Metal (crush resistant up to 2000 lbs) casing ensures that the USB does not get easily damaged and solves the "cap losing" problem. The slider on top doubles up as the LED indicator and there is a ring for lanyard and grooves to hold belt clips.
Performance
Let’s assume that you have an excel file which you need to show your client. You take it in your USB drive and get to the client’s place only to know that his computer does not have MS-Office installed. This is exactly the problem that the U3 platform solves. Now with the U3 platform installed, you can run a U3 compatible spreadsheet program from your USB drive and show you client the contents of the file. So put in a nutshell, the U3 smart platform allows you to carry both data and the programs which work on the data together. This drive comes with a host of U3 applications like the Cruzer Sync to sync your Outlook and My Documents files, Signup Shield Passwords for password management, Skype for making PC to PC video calls, FireFox browser, Openoffice and Avast! Antivirus for scanning your drive and host computer. The one disadvantage here is that the antivirus requires subscription and will expire in two months without it. There is even an extensive interactive help system for the newbie. The file transfer speeds are impressive to say the least with a sustained rate of 15 MB/sec for reading and 9 MB/sec for writing. The figures drop marginally while reading or writing small files.
KEY SPECIFICATIONS
Storage Capacity: 2GB
Interfaces: 1 Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
Compatible OS: Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4
Software: U3 smart platform
Extras: Skype, FireFox, Signup Shield Passwords, Cruzer Sync.
Conclusion:
This Sandisk Cruzer 2GB flash drive belonging to the Titanium series does live up to the expectations and delivers excellent value at a competitive price.
SanDisk Cruzer Micro 1GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
December 25, 2007
Overview
The SanDisk 1GB pen drive is truly micro with its sleek profile. This drive is the smallest in its class and is a definite boon to people who connect too many devices to their laptops.
Design
The USB drive looks stylish and compact with dimensions of 7.9mm x 18.95mm x 52.2mm (H x W x L). The clear skin plastic sleeve protects the USB connector, which is enclosed in a lustrous metal casing. The brilliant green LED lights up the tail of the drive and adds to the style quotient of the drive.
Performance
This 1gb flash pen drive from sandisk is a USB 2.0 compliant USB device and offers maximum data rates when connected to Hi-speed USB 2.0 ports. The transfer rates suffer when this drive is connected to legacy ports (USB 1.1 compliant). The drive is Plug and Play compatible and does not require additional software to work on most of the Operating Systems. It is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows Platforms. This drive performs faster when copying and deleting bigger files and becomes slow as the file sizes decrease. The drive also comes with a few pre-installed software. This means that they are installed in the drive and run from the drive itself. The Cruzer Lock utility can encrypt your files to secure them. You are required to key in a password to encrypt and later decrypt the files. The Pocket Cache utility allows you to create backup of your drive and the Cruzer Sync allows you to sync your Outlook and My Documents files and folders. The last two utilities are trial versions.
KEY SPECIFICATIONS
Storage Capacity: 1GB
Interfaces: 1 Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
Compatible OS: Windows 2000, XP and Mac OS 9.1.x+, OS X v10.1.2+, Certified Windows XP and Mac OS X
Software: Cruzer Lock 2, Pocket Cache (trial), Cruzer Sync (trial)
Conclusion:
This 1GB Sandisk Cruzer micro flash pen drive is one of the compact and efficient drives in the market. The disadvantage being the detachable cap, which can be a pain and the drive is a little on the slower side. We advise you to explore other options before going in with the purchase.
SanDisk 4gb Cruzer Micro U3 Smart 2.0 USB Flash Drive
December 16, 2007
Overview
The Micro series from SanDisk went through a makeover and the result is the new look 4 GB drive. This is a first for SanDisk in terms of high capacity drives. Does the new 4 GB drive deliver? Here is the full story.
Design
First thing you can notice from the picture of this pen drvie is that it does not have a cap! One of the major complaints with the micro series was that the cap, which was easy to lose due to its size. This drive comes with a retractable connector which can be moved using a thumb operated slider which is recessed into the body of the casing. The slider requires considerable force to move and this ensures that it does not slide back unnecessarily. The slider doubles up as a activity indicator by enclosing amber LED light. The metal casing with black plastic bevel looks elegant without losing the style edge. There is a ring for lanyard and two grooves to attach a belt clip.
Performance
The difference between this drive and the others in the micro series is the U3 smart platform which comes bundled with the drive. The U3 platform works like an Operating system which executes from the disk. When the drive is inserted, a launchpad similar to the XP start menu pops up with a list of U3 enabled applications. The major applications include Cruzer Sync which allows you to sync your Outlook and My Document folders, Signup Shield password management system, Skype software which can be used to make PC to PC video calls and Avast! Antivirus software, to scan the drive and host computer for viruses. It should be mentioned that the U3 platform is compatible only with Windows 2000 (service pack 4 or later) and Windows XP operating system. Apart from this, the drive offers you fast reading and writing data rates both with larger and smaller files.
KEY SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 59 g
Capacity: 4GB
Interface Type: 1 Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Type A
Compatible OS: Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4
Software: U3 smart platform with applications
Conclusion
The completely redesigned interior is well thought out and improves the utility value of the product. The U3 smart platform transforms the drive from being a simple USB drive to being a mobile office which you can hold in your hands. This is certainly a product which is worth its price.
Kingston Technology 1GB Data Traveler USB Flash Pen Drive
December 16, 2007
Overview
The Data Traveler 1 GB USB Drive sure does have an air of simplicity about it and is one of the best in the market when it comes to reliability. But does it deliver the goods when it comes to performance? We put the drive through its paces and this is what we found out.
Design
This is one of the first USB drives which came out with a solution for the "losing the cap" problem which is quite common with the capped "USB" drives. The brown trims on either side work as "grips" to prevent falls due to the drive slipping from your hands. The Data traveler is light-weight with compact dimensions but lacks a "wow" factor in the design.
Performance
The first thing to look is the data transfer rates: 3 MB/sec for writing and 6 MB/sec for reading. Well the speeds are OK but not that impressive, considering there are other drives with the same 1GB capacity which is four times faster. The file transfer speed tends to decrease as the disk becomes full. This is a High-speed device compliant with the USB 2.0 standards and is Plug-and-Play enabled. It installs automatically once connected to the PC. The important thing to note here is that this device is not compatible with Win NT, Win 95, Win 98, Win98SE, Win ME operating systems.
KEY SPECIFICATIONS
Weight: 0.06KG
Dimensions: 66.9mm x 20.4mm x 9.0mm
Capacity: 1GB
Interface Type: USB 2.0
Connector: High speed USB
Data Transfer Rates: Reading - 6MB/sec., Writing - 3MB/sec
Conclusion
The 1GB Flash drive from Kingston does come up short in the performance department. Bulk data transfers are considerably slower and become even more slower as the disk fills up. The five year warranty and the competitive price sure do appeal to the customers. But when it comes to value, this offering falls short. We advice you to compare it to other products in the market before you make a decision.
