The best thing USB flash drives have going for them is their price, which has been in a free fall for several years and about to go below $1 per GB at the time I'm writing this review. In addition, if your goal is storing data independently of any specific piece of equipment - camera, reader, music player - their size/bulk is an advantage because it's so much easier to lose or break an SD card once it's out of its host.
Briefly, this is what it's worth knowing about this item:
- I can't see that I've had a big problem with losing caps but the 'capless' design is quite innovative and it does not hurt.
- It's fast enough to support video transfer but, of course, it does not come close to the theoretical 60MB/sec max I/O speed that the USB 2.0 specification allows.
- Installs itself and does not require any software to be recognized as a 'drive' on a Vista or XP computer. Can't speak for other operating systems.
- It formats and partitions as any 'spinning' drive.
- Can be used to store data, to attach to players (my car plays MP3s off an USB drive) or to move it between unconnected devices.
- Tolerable when used with apps that require some moderate I/O but I would not try to make it a swap drive.
When it comes to Kingston - and, over the years and as prices were falling and the capacity grew, I've bought their 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and now the 16GBs - they never let me down. I don't believe I've lost one bit of data so far and, affordable as they are, I can make multiple copy of the data I can't afford to lose and keep it stored at different locations.
Considering price and reliability, this is a well-deserved 5-star. Kingston Digital DataTraveler 101 Generation 2 - 16 GB Flash Drive DT101G2/16GBZET
Great product. But a little bit thick I should say. Yet still small and portable.
I tested it at once I got it. And it turns out to be much faster than "10M/s read; 5M/s write" as listed in the product detail. Actually it's around 18M/s read and 10M/s write! I don't know if it's gonna slow down after being used for a while, but so far the speed is satisfying.
One thing you should pay attention however is the heat. It heats up significantly while working. So it's not a good idea to keep it plugged in for a long time. But I bet it won't burn if you do so.
Over all it's a great product, high speed and nice looking. Price is fair. It's Kingston, you know.
EXCELLENT product but you HAVE to format the device in order to transfer big files... just as Kingston Tech Support (and other kind buyers) explained:
"In order to copy large files more then 4GB it has to be converted into NTFS. FAT32 has a limitation of only 4GB. To format to NTFS, please follow these instructions. Warning: If you have data on the drive, you should save it elsewhere as this process will erase it all.
1. Go into My Computer and, right click on the drive and select format.
2. Under File System select NTFS and click on Start. If you do not have an option for NTFS, close the format box and go into Device Manager by right clicking on My Computer and selecting Properties.
3. Click on the Hardware tab and click on Device Manager button.
4. Expand Disk Drives and right click on the Kingston drive and select Properties.
5. Click on the Policies tab and click "Optimize for performance and OK.
6. Then go back into My Computer, right click on the drive and select format and make sure NTFS is selected for the file system. Select quick format and OK."
EXCELLENT product.
Nice design, fine looking dongle. Works as a flash drive. However, I was exploring the preloaded software, and was downloading one of the available applications,(Warzone 2100?), and got hit pretty hard with unknown Internet Explorer errors, malware or virus. Had to restore computer to factory settings, luckily able to backup most files. May decide to remove preloaded software on this dongle.
Great flash drive. I didn't do benchmarking or anything like that, but just using it it feels very fast. I regularly transfer videos, music, and PDF files. Previously I was using a Transcend flash drive, and when my kid broke that I was using an SD card with a card reader for a few weeks. This flash drive is MUCH MUCH faster. The first couple times I used it I actually had to open the folder and check to see if my files were there because the transfer was over so quickly I thought there was an error.
Not sure how I feel about the software it comes with. Others seems to love it. I don't know if I'll have a use for it, but I'm happy to have the option.
A few things just to be aware of:
1. The silver swivel cap in the picture is more a dark titanium gray. Looks very different from the picture. Just in case you care, which I don't.
2. You can't open the swivel cap all the way if you have even a small keyring attached to it. Not an issue, just letting you know. The ring blocks the lid. It does open most of the way. I'll post a picture.
3. The swivel cap does not offer complete protection of the USB plug. Dirt can still get up into it. It's really there to protect the plug from being grabbed or knocked hard, I suppose. I wouldn't go carrying it in your pocket or deep in a purse for long periods of time. Note also that the swivel cap does not lock into place. I think it's fine if you're hooking it to a key chain. My key chain goes from the hook by the door, to the car ignition, to a separate (clean) pocket in my purse. So for me this isn't an issue. However, more complete protection would have been nice.
4. The logo in the center is kinda holographic. Looks nice.
5. There's a green light below the center logo that comes on when the drive is working. I don't remember reading this in the description. I like this feature, so it was a happy surprise. However, it's pretty dim and you have to kind of look for it.
6. It's kind of a tight fit to plug in and unplug. Personally I prefer a little tight to loose! Feels secure.
The only problem I've had is that it comes with 2 GB free online storage with SOS Online Backup. Another very nice surprise!!! However, I have not been able to get it to work and SOS has not responded to my inquiries. If anyone knows how to overcome error code 91, let me know.
What I love about it:
1. It looks very nice.
2. It offers TONS of storage.
3. It transfers files very quickly!!
4. I can hook it to my key chain (check out the picture).
5. The price!!! Can't beat it for the storage capacity and product quality.
All the extras were not necessary for me, and half I didn't even expect. So even though they're not perfect, the product itself exceeds my expectations and earns 5 starts. - Cruzer - Kingston - 16gb - Flash Drive'
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