Recently, USB Memory Keys are becoming are the rage in quick, efficient, and high capacity storage without breaking your wallet. Personally, I've traditionally used a small multi-card reader with various flash media. My latest one was a Lexar Jumpdrive Trio (used either aa MMC, SD, or a standard Memory Stick for storage) and the original SanDisk Cruzer (used an SD card for storage). However, after stumbling upon a Staples deal that was posted around the various deal sites... I purchased the SanDisk 256MB Cruzer mini!

Pricing

I personally got the SanDisk 256MB Cruzer Mini for just under $27! This was a deal I got through Staples.com... although this was a glitch in their system. The card was $60 originally with a $10 mail-in Staples rebate. However, there was an erronous coupon in their database that gave $40 off $71 (the coupon was originally supposed to be used to buy 2 packs of expensive Uniball pens packs and to get a $40 Swatch free). On top of this, I had 2% from ebates.com, 2% for my American Express Business Card, and hopefully an additional discount for my Staples Business Rewards Gold card (if I broke the $250 in purchases for January to March 2004). So overall the item cost me under $27 with taxes included and with free S&H (for orders over $50 at Staples or Business Rewards Gold members).

Otherwise, the retail price is around $70 for this item with a couple of exceptions. Costco (not on the website however) sells this item for $49.99! Actually, one week in February, the price at Costco came down to $39.99! I kicked myself for not buying it then but then the Staples deal popped up. Some of my friends had also purchased this particular Cruzer mini at Amazon.com for a very reasonable $45 about two weeks ago. Strangely, Amazon.com no longer sells the 256MB Cruzer mini but sells 128MB, 512MB, and a 1GB version.

You can read my epinion The Art of Buying... Getting your money's worth! for some tips on trying to save money online and in the actual stores (pertains more to US customers).

Note that there are a ton of competitors and various forms of the USB Memory Keys from many, many manufactures which include Lexar, Iomage, Micron, Fuji, PNY, Memorex, Meritline, LaCie, and more! USB Memory Keys are include one piece keys like the Cruzer Mini or ones that require a seperate memory card like the original Cruzer and the Jumpdrive Trio. There are also many different forms of the USB Memory Key from the simple "stick" to wristwatches with a USB extension on them (Meritline Rist watch and USB Memory Key for $104-$140). Just letting you know your options!

Short Take?

The Cruzrer Mini is an excellent low cost choice for easy portable storage as long as the computer has a USB port and a more recent operating system. transfer times are quite speedy with a 81 MB transfer taking up well under 3 minutes via a USB 1.1 port. With a USB 2.0 port, it took about a minute or so for the same files. Although it holds about 1/3 of a CD-R, you have the advantage of easily writing and erasing files from the Cruzer Mini... which is not easily done in CD-R (can't delete files) or CD-RWs (requires that the computer have a program like InCD installed if you want to read and write reliably among different computers). The mini appears as a removable hard drive on the computer running Windows XP. The Cruzer mini is very small and portable... it actually has the same dimensions as a small pack of stick gum! The Cruzer mini doesn't block other USB ports if they are adjacent to each other either like older USB Key solutions. The Cruzer mini also has a small eyelet on the body of the device (not on the cap) to attach the included neck strap... however, the eyelet is not big enough to easily attach it to a key ring.

Only a couple of nagging issues... the device is unreliable with Windows 98 computers (remember that the Cruzer mini device driver only works with Windows 98SE i.e. Windows 98 Second Edition). It has been hit of miss when I plug in into a Windows 98SE computer after installing the most recent drivers. Note that Windows 98 version prior to 98SE doesn't not support USB ports! i have gotten the device to work in the occassional Windows NT4.0 with all the latest patches installed although I have also had failures. I also cannor remark on computers running Mac OS 9.x and lower but it seemed reliable in Mac OS 10.

My only other concern is SanDisk has been known to have reliability issues with some of their products. I know that they are probably the biggest and most well known of the flash memory card makers. None of the other makers including Lexar is as big as SanDisk. Case in point, Sandisk SD cards have been known to have stability probles (I use Lexar and Panasonic made SD cards only) although Compact Flash cards from SanDisk have been reliable. It's likely not a major issue but something that is in the back of my mind.

Dimensions and Other Information

The Cruzer mini is a slight 2.875 inches in length, 0.75 inches wide and 0.25 inch thick! The weight feels about 1 to 1.5 oz. SanDisk was smart enough to design the mini to fit the dimensions of a single USB port... so it doesn't block adjacent or stacked USB ports when plugged in. Also, the Cruzer mini supports the much faster USB 2.0 as well as the more common but slower USB 1.1 standard. The device casing is made of a polycarbonate plastic and hold up to minor and moderate levels of abuse like striking the side of a desk while you're walking to drops to the floor. There is a translucent cap to protect the USB plug (SanDisk provides you with three different colored caps in the package). The cap attaches to the other end when you plug the mini into a computer. The other end of the mini is a smaller fixed translucent cap that allows you to see the bright green LED signalling that the drive is plugged in and if it is being accessed. Again, the USB plug cover cap fits snuggly on top of this fixed cap.

There are two small holes near the fixed cap for you to thread the thin portion of the neck strap through (SanDisk also provides you with the neck strap). The eyelet is extremely small and very tight... so it is difficult to attach the mini to your key ring. However, the neck strap does separate into two pieces... you can attach the plastic nub with attaches to the mini to a key ring.

Compatibility?

So far, I've attached it to 27 different computers running either Windows XP Home, XP Pro, and 2000 with no problems so far. It appears as a removal hard drive under the My Computers folder. Two computers running Windows Me have not given me a problem. I have not been successful with 2 computers running Windows 98SE and successful with one of my home computers still running 98SE. I've been 1 out of 2 on on Windows NT 4.0. 3 Mac OS 10.x computers have not given me any problems so far. I haven't tried on a Linux based system or any Mac OS 9.x system. Note that Windows 98SE and Mac OS 9.x require you to install drivers first before plugging in the Cruzer mini.

The Cruzer mini is formatted in FAT-16 which I kept since I plug it into various computer with multiple operating systems.

HD Tach Benchmarks

The burst speed is 8.8 MB/sec. Random access time is 93.8 ms. CPU utilization is 8%. Average read speed is 7.9MB/sec.

Any other Features?

There is a feature called CruzerLock that allows you to password protect the information on the Cruzer mini. I haven't tried it but you should be aware that if you forget the password, there is no way to retrieve the data on your Cruzer mini. You can make the Cruzer mini usable again by reformatting it... and you then would lose the data on the mini.

I already mentioned that the transfer rates to and from the Cruzer mini were very good even on USB 1.1. Plugged into a USB 2.0 port, the mini can transfer nearly 100MB in a minute or so. I have upzipped files straight from the Cruzer mini to my hard drive which was only slightly slower than unzipping the file if it was on my hard drive. Performance was overall impressive for the mini.

Warranty?

Two year warranty from SanDisk. I have heard a number of problems surfacing about this product but so far so good for me. Some owners have remarked that their Cruzer Mini died within 1 to 3 months after purchase. You do have to pay for shipping and handling for SanDisk to repair the Cruzer Mini.

Final Words?

Overall, why do I use such a device? Mostly for presentations and carrying data from the office, hospital, and home. Since the data needs to be edited quite often, this made more sense than a CD-R. Also, the hospital has a high speed internet connection while I still use dial-up at home.

Overall, for the price I paid, this is one heck of a deal. Even at $50 at Costco, it is reasonably priced and gives a reliable high capacity storage item that you'll use over and over again. Possible reliability problems aside, this is a great solution. At under $40 it is a steal. At the price I paid, there is absolutely no question at that point.

Recommended: Yes