noangels's Full Review: PNY Pink Swivel USB 2.0 Flash Drive (4 GB) (P-FD4G...
To ensure I'm prepared for every circumstance, I carry a number of essential items in my tote bag with me at all times. I've never regretted having an umbrella in my bag nor the change of socks. I have used my eye glass repair kit several times. My digital camera comes in handy for recording unexpected memories. Bandages are my quick fix for cuts, blisters, or broken nails. I use my lip balms compulsively.
As useful as all of these items are, I feel the most lost when I accidentally leave my flash drives home. It comforts me to have all of my important documents with me at all times. I like knowing that I can furnish my resume when an unexpected opportunity arises. I enjoy having my review drafts on me when I need to entertain myself. Keeping copies of my financial information has been invaluable in several situations.
My constant need for removable storage leads to frequent flash drive purchases. To date, I have reviewed six flash drives, which probably accounts for fewer than half of the drives I have owned. I recently had another drive fail and purchased the PNY Pink Swivel 4GB Flash Drive as a replacement.
Design
In purchasing this flash drive, I was looking for a smaller drive than my previous devices. I primarily use my drives with my laptop, which obviously gets moved around quite a bit because of its portability. Since the drives protrude from the USB ports, they frequently get beat up. I try to remember to be careful, but there are times when I simply don't notice a couch pillow leaning against the drive, pushing it at an angle. My drives aren't safe when plugged into desktop systems either, as there have been plenty of times that I've caught myself stepping on them or knocking into them.
For the sake of longevity, I decided a shorter drive might be the best way to go. I purchased this drive without much consideration. It looked smaller than my last drive and happened to be on sale. This design has actually turned out to be the worst design for me yet.
The PNY Pink Swivel 4GB Flash Drive, like many thumb drives, measures about the width of a thumb. When not in use, the drive rivals a thumb in length, which is about three quarters of the length of my other flash drives. I didn't realize that the drive was folded up in the package. To use the flash drive, the user presses a black button on the top of the drive. The black USB device pops out like a switch blade, swinging to a straight, open position, then locking into place. This actually makes the drive almost an inch longer than other flash drives I own.
As if movable parts don't make this design precarious enough, the USB drive is a flat design with pins on top rather than the traditional rectangular plug. It slides into the bottom of the USB port, rather than interlocking over the whole thing. It is rather flimsy and the long drive actually seems more breakable with this design.
The drive is very sleek-looking. It comes in three colors; blue, green and pink. I purchased the pink one, which is a rather bright color. The end of the drive is accented with a clear plastic that I would have assumed would house a light to indicate when the drive is in use, but it doesn't light. This plastic is molded into a small notch which could accommodate a keychain or lanyard.
Overall, I'd say the flash drive design makes it very portable. Since it's retractable, it can easily slip into a pocket or fit on a keychain. It's not very sturdy, however, and I think more attention should have been paid to creating a more durable design.
Ease of Use
The PNY Pink Swivel 4GB Flash Drive functions as a plug n' play device with Windows and Mac systems. I simply plugged it into both my Windows XP and Vista systems, and was able to start using it as removable storage. The drive connects via USB 2.0, providing speeds of up to 480 megabit per second. It is backwards compatible with USB 1.1, for those with older systems (usually before 2003).
Capacity
This drive has a 4 gigabyte (GB) capacity, which is my preferred capacity for my primary flash drive. 4GB is sufficient to hold approximately 1,000 pictures (depending on the quality of the images), 1,000 songs (depending on the length of the songs), and thousands of documents. It's perfect for someone who has the need to travel several multimedia files along with an archive of text files. With the quality of digital cameras rising, this flash drive may only hold 300-400 pictures, so it may not be the best option if you plan to deal mostly with large picture files.
This drive has been sufficient to carry all of my "essentials." Currently I have all of my documents stored on it, which includes all schoolwork, personal, and business documents. I also have four albums of music on it (three of the re-mastered Beatles albums, along with the Twilight soundtrack). It also holds about two-hundred photos from my digitial SLR camera. I still have about 1.5 GB of available space, which I use for transferring multimedia files from computer to computer. Price
I purchased this drive on sale for $12.99 at Best Buy. I felt this was a reasonable price as far as the drive capacity is concerned, but I'm not at all happy with the flash drive's design. I plan to continue to use it until it dies, but I don't expect this device to last very long.
**Update** I was correct. This flash drive died after only one month of use. I wouldn't recommend it at all.
Ultra compact, micro swivel design! High Performance USB 2.0 Flash Drive - work with Windows ReadyBoost to boost performance and system responsiveness...More at Amazon
Store, transport and share photos, video, music, documents and more from PC to PC. Ultra compact, capless swing design. Available in multiple colors.More at onSale
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