Gifts for Geeks - In search for the best USB flash drive
Summary: For years I've been in search of the "ultimate" USB flash drive. Up until recently the capacities were too small or the prices too high, but now I've found three USB flash drives that come close to claiming the "ultimate" tag.
For years I've been in search of the "ultimate" USB flash drive. Up until recently the capacities were too small or the prices too high, but now I've found three USB flash drives that come close to claiming the "ultimate" tag.
Here are the three drives in question:
Each of these three drives shares a number of similarities:
- They're all 1GB or bigger
- They're all fast (fast enough to be used as a Windows Vista ReadyBoost drive)
- They all come with a lanyard carry strap that attaches to the drive and not the cap (so you don't end up losing the drive if it becomes separated from the cap - a small point, but one I wish all USB flash drive makers would take on board)
But the similarities pretty much end there - each drive has features that make is pretty desirable - shame that I can't find one drive that has all the features!
[poll id=50]Kingston DataTraveler Elite Privacy
There are two features that I absolutely love about my Kingston DataTraveler Elite Privacy:
- Blazing speed
Read speeds of 24MB/sec and write speeds of 14MB/sec. - 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
All the data I drop into the protected zone on this drive is automatically protected without having to mess about with separate programs or having to remember to re-encrypt a file after decrypting it. While most USB flash drives come with encryption software, none match the simplicity and ease of use of the Kingston DataTraveler Elite Privacy.
The Kingston DataTraveler Elite Privacy is the largest of the three drives - 3.1" x 0.9" x 0.4" (77.4mm x 22.1mm x 10.1mm) - so it's not going to fit into tightly spaced USB ports
SanDisk Cruzer Titanium
There's one feature of the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium that totally stands out the - the "Liquidmetal" titanium alloy body that is capable of resisting crush forces over 2,000 lbs. I've really hammered my drive (stood on it, placed it under a chair leg and then sat on the chair, that kind of stuff) and it still looks like new (even the laser-etched finish is still like new).
This model doesn't have a cap over the USB connector, instead is retracts into the safety of the titanium alloy shell, which is a nice idea but it does leave the connector open to muck getting into it, although I have to add that this so far hasn't been a problem.
Performance-wise this drive is also pretty good, achieving read speeds of around 15MB/sec and write speeds of about 9MB/sec.
The SanDisk Cruzer Titanium comes with a number of U3 compatible programs installed.
Memorex Mini TravelDrive
The one feature that I absolutely love about this drive is how small it is, or more precisely, how thin it is.
This model measures in at 2.25" 0.85" x 0.27" (57.2mm x 21.6mm x 6.8mm) which, by USB flash drive standards is pretty small. The SanDisk Cruzer Micro USB flash drive is about the same size but the Memorex drive has one advantage - the contoured shape makes it easier to remove from those tight USB ports (I have a SanDisk Cruzer Micro too and the problem I find with that is that I end up having to yank it out of the USB port using the lanyard.)
The encryption software requires installation on the PC which is perhaps one downside, but overall this is a low price, high quality drive that is sturdy as well as stylish.
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Talkback
can I have this one instead? ;-)
that's my wish for the Christmas season.
gnu/linux...giving choice to the neX(11)t generation.
That is pretty cool!
My Personal Favorite is the iDisk Tiny
You can purchase the 2 GB model here:
http://www.microsupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=19943&cPath=312_316_317
You can find out more information about the drive in general
here:
http://www.verbatim.com.au/products.cfm?productID=TD2128SL
I love it because it is so small. It attaches to my keyring.
It is smaller and weighs less than most of my keys. That way
I'm never without it. How many time have you been somewhere
and someone's said, "Oh, I have that on my flash drive," only
to discover that they left it at home that day? Many other
drives will also attach to a keyring, but most of them are too
bulky for me to allow them in my pocket. They also don't have
an easy way to remove themselves. I don't want to have my
keychain hooked to the back of a flash drive that is plugged
into the back of a computer. The iDisk Tiny has a clasp like
you would find on a necklace that allows it to detach and
reattach to your keychain.
It's not the fastest drive in the world, and I wouldn't get it
if the only purpose was to run ReadyBoost, because I would
leave that permanently attached to my machine, but it is at
least twice as fast as it needs to be for ReadyBoost, so you
can use it for that purpose if you like.
Good cap design
Size and is it Bootable?
Kingston Drives are bootable..
It depends on your BIOS
Yeah, it's dependent on the BIOS ...
Booting WinXP
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
which is good for making bootable ISO's with custom plug-ins that can be burned to CD, not that I have ever figured out what to do once I have booted up into a pre-install environment (I prefer the good ol' days of DOS, and burning bootable floppy images to CD with PC-DOS or some other non-M$ OS is simple enough especially if you have at least one of your hdd partitions formatted as FAT32 which WinXP and Vista will recognize). If you are savvy with making bootable CDs (not for the faint of heart) then making a USB flashdrive bootable is just just another hack. My own BIOS is more than a year old (and a Dell to boot, pardon the pun) and it supports booting from USB.
Ativa U3 drive
They also make an 8GB version
Rainbow Technology
What is your take on the rainbow technology. Though still not really proven but looks promising or not!!
http://content.msn.co.in/Technology/TechnologyTT_140407_1615.htm
Regards,
Deep
RE: Gifts for Geeks - In search for the best USB flash drive