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A-Data Show Me Disk 2GB

Josh Norem — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 18:17:14 -0600

Now this is cool. the Show Me Disk includes an 11-character readout that displays any name you create for your key. Whatever you you type into Windows Explorer shows up on the key’s display, so people will know its “Josh’s key,” or they’ll see that “Cats rule,” maybe. The display also features a pie chart and numerical rating for the available capacity, which is wicked-awesome. You just glance at the pie or the number to find out how much space you have left. We love these features! There’s one tiny problem: This key is slow as molasses in a New York winter. It’s so slow we grew a beard transferring 1GB of data to the device. We then had ample time to shave said beard reading that 1GB of data from the key.

Aside from the cool display, this key doesn’t boast much else. It’s very affordable for a 2GB key, but we don’t like its blocky, cheap-looking plastic body. And it’s too fat; it can’t be plugged into a USB port if there’s another device plugged above it, although it fits just fine if the port below it is occupied.

There’s no software bundle, but we wouldn’t expect that on a $50 key. The snazzy display is really this key’s only selling point.

Month Reviewed: November 2006
+ APPLE PIE: We love the display; somewhat affordable.
- PIE CHART: A bit too portly, lacks software, and is agonizingly slow.
Verdict: 6
URL: www.adatausa.com

A-Data My Flash Fingerprint Disk 2GB

Josh Norem — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 18:16:14 -0600

The My Flash Fingerprint Disk offers a feature that goes well with a USB key: a fingerprint scanner to protect the drive’s contents. While not everyone keeps satellite images of nuclear facilities and top-secret documents on their USB key, it’s still reassuring to know that there’s an extra level of protection between your data and potential do-badders.

The fingerprint-recording process is as simple as can be. You select a finger from either hand to train onscreen, then swipe the chosen digit over the scanner. It records your fingerprint and you’re set—every time you plug in the key you have to swipe that finger to unlock the drive’s contents. Otherwise, the key’s contents are invisible, and the drive is write-protected. If you want to add another fingerprint to the key’s database, you have to first swipe the original finger in order to proceed.

While the fingerprint mechanism works fabulously, the key performed poorly in our file transfer tests. This seems to be a trend—no-name keys are usually slower than their brand-name brethren. In the end, this key’s svelte formfactor and biometrics can’t make up for its pokiness.

Month Reviewed: November 2006
+ FINGER PAINT: Great security feature, easy-to-use scanner, and affordable.
- FINGERPRINT: It’s a one-trick pony, and it’s slow.
Verdict: 7
URL: www.adatausa.com

Sandisk Cruzer Titanium 2GB

Josh Norem — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 18:15:14 -0600

Look at this sexy mofo. Talk about elegant and sophisticated! And we love how its cap-less design addresses one of our biggest complaints with these drives—the caps always get lost! On this key, you push the USB header out of the key when you need it, and slide it back in when you’re done. This not only reduces the key’s size considerably, but it protects the port as well. It’s a perfect design, in our opinion.

Unlike the other keys in this roundup, the Cruzer comes with the increasingly popular U3 technology, which is like a mini-OS for the key. When the key is plugged into your PC, you can access a “start menu” from the system tray. You can run programs right off the key, add new programs, manage them, and so forth. Though we dismissed U3 as being largely worthless when we first encountered it, we’re impressed with the Cruzer’s implementation of the technology. A streamlined loading process addresses the problem we had in the past: waiting on a lengthy splash screen before we could get at the key’s contents; here you can access the key instantly, and the U3 stuff loads quietly in the background. And SanDisk includes some truly useful programs, such as antivirus and synching apps.

The icing on the cake is that this key is hella fast. It smoked every other key in this roundup in our read/write tests, making it a jack-of-all-trades device. You can even password-protect its contents. It’s pricey, but not outrageously so, and it delivers enough extra juice to justify the cost.

Month Reviewed: November 2006
+ HARD DISK: Very fast read/write, incredibly small and slim, and great U3 software.
- SLIPPED DISK: A bit pricey for its capacity.
Verdict: 9
kickass=yes
URL: www.sandisk.com

OCZ Rally 2 4GB

Josh Norem — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 18:14:14 -0600

After receiving several reader requests to check out the Rally 2 key from OCZ Technology, we were persuaded to call one in. As it turns out, the Rally 2 is a darn sexy flash drive. It’s devoid of any software, which doesn’t surprise us: OCZ has always stood for “performance first,” thus it makes sense that the Rally 2 is designed for one thing and one thing only—fast data transfers. Granted, it’s not as fast as the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium 2GB, but it offers double the capacity at the same price point, making it a mighty compelling alternative.

OCZ labels the Rally 2 a “dual channel” drive, meaning it’s able to read and write data from two channels of memory at the same time, sort of like a striped RAID array. OCZ also claims that this 4GB key is optimized for large file transfers—5MB or larger. This certainly seems to be the case, because the Rally drive absolutely choked on an assortment of Word documents that we use in our file transfer test, but it breezed through the larger test files. Of the four keys reviewed here, it was the second-fastest in both read and write tests.

Its aluminum chassis is sleek and seems quite durable. The top of the key sports a small hole that’s intended for use with the included lanyard—it’s too small to be used with a keychain, unfortunately.

Month Reviewed: November 2006
+ WHISKEY: Very fast read/writes, sleek design, and slim chassis.
- HOUSE KEY: No software bundle; not as fast as SanDisk’s key.
Verdict: 8
URL: www.ocztechnology.com