theuerkorn's Full Review: SanDisk Cruzer® Contourâ„¢ (15.96 GB) USB 2.0...
Sandisk's original Cruzer Titanium (SDCZ3) got mixed reviews in 2005, and despite its cool rugged shell it sure turned out to be a softy. Unfortunately that meant the drive's electronics would literally die if not handled correctly. Against all odds, I gave in to the "New Cruzer Titanium" (SDCZ7) due to it's great looks. That turned out to be a good move, but U3 capability has not been updated to work with Windows Vista (as of writing this review). A bit more research revealed that Sandisk is now promoting the new Cruzer Contour (SDCZ8) to fit the Vista line with both U3 as well as ReadyBoost support. Available in both 4 GB and 8 GB, the contour sports a few changes that -- along with a good price -- convinced me that I "needed" one of "those".
IN A NUTSHELL
The main reason for the purchase was the promised performance at a low price out (for $39.- for 4GB and $69 for 8GB from eCost.com). There is no detailed information published on this device but the package states 18 MB/s for write and up to 25 MB/s for read performance. Other than that the housing change is probably the most significant change.
While the Cruzer Titanium U3 (SDCZ7) was finally a size and design that can be attached to your keychain without screaming "geek", the Contour (SDCZ8) is clearly a step back in portability. While still possible to be attached to a keychain via the included pouch, the end result is rather large and somewhat cumbersome. However, it enables to plug the device in without having a large keychain hanging off it.
The included U3 software is now Vista compatible, but for some reason I had now load problems on XP computers with highly restricted user rights. (Claiming the requested drive letter was already in use.)
MAIN FEATURES
While the Titanium devices list under the nomenclature SDCZ7 and SDCZ3 respectively, the new Contour is not only a different design and construction but also the designation SDCZ8. The premise isn't so much to withstand extreme conditions but to provide a rugged yet user-friendly design that works with the latest OS (Vista).
Housing: [***--] The contour is not the smallest device on the market and in comparison to the original Cruzer Titanium both thicker and wider. The SDCZ8 measures 9.8mm x 24.0mm x 73.8mm in Height x Width x Length (SDCZ3: 8.5mm x 20.8mm x 74.8mm & SDCZ7: 7.14mm x 19.05mm x 57.94mm). While it doesn't sport the sleek "Liquidmetal" housing, the lower half is still metal while the top half is clear plastic. The metal front door prevents lint to collect in the connector or harmful exposure to electrostatic discharge once the USB connector is retracted. The plastic slider is a bit squeaky and can easily scratch when abused. There is no direct way to tether the Cruzer Contour other than the included pouch (friction fit). Nevertheless, the slider mechanism as such is one of the most innovative in the current market as it doesn't require a separate cap nor is the USB connector exposed when stored.
Design: [***--] What's not to like about the brushed steel look combined with black plastics? Well, it's not the classy design of the original Titanium and not the compact wonder of the Cruzer Titanium U3 either. In fact, the plastic feels a bit cheap after the initial fling wears off and the "knife's edge" at the far end of the device too looses its luster quickly. A neat feature is the signature blue LED which now lights up the word CRUZER in the black plastic, but under normal circumstances a bit hard to see as it's neither bright nor visible from a wide angle. The lighting scheme remains the same as the U3 as it's on when mounted and should be off before removing (a U3 requirement).
Accessories: [****-] Included is a pouch with lanyard attachment which can be used to secure the pouch to a key chain or bag. While the Contour fits well enough for a secure fit, there is nothing to prevent the device from getting lost but that should be fairly rare as the fit provides good protection under normal use. The included key ring is significantly more sturdy than the flimsy version that was supposed to secure the Cruzer Titanium U3.
Software: [****-] The pre-installed software consists of the typical U3 launchpad tool and some timesavers like CruzerSync (Desktop synchronization tool) and SignupShield (Password manager). Of course SKYPE and AVAST Antivirus are pre-installed as well. The basic photo editor HP Photosmart as well as the games Sudoku and Mahjong may not appear essential, but for some a welcome addition. The Cruzer Contour is generally compatible with Windows 2000 SP4, XP, Vista as well as Mac OS X v10.1.2 (U3 functionality for Windows only, including Vista).
Performance: [****-] The Cruzer Contour works with both USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 ports, though the latter would stifle the performance. Despite the maximum 480 Mbit/s (or 60 MByte/s) of the USB2.0 interface, flash memory typically gets nowhere close to those numbers. SanDisk's packaging rates the Cruzer Contour with a maximum speed of 25 MByte/s for read and 18 MByte/s for write.
(for comparison to the Titanium U3 [Click Here] (max. 18.5 / 8.7 MB/s)
It should be noted that the results may not exactly compare since the contour was tested with Sandra 2008 while the others deployed Sandra 2005. However, the results show significant improvements when comparing data transfer with the recent Cruzer Titanium U3 version (SDCZ7). Generally speaking, write performance improved significantly and tops out at 16.4 MByte/sec (still 10% below the advertised speed but nearly twice as fast as the Titanium U3). Small file inefficiency has been reduced as well. The read performance tops out at 28 MByte/sec (10% above rated speed). Copying a single large file (ZIP, 339 MByte) clocked in at 24.2 MByte/s for reading and 16.1 MByte/s for writing.
If you encounter an error message upon launching of the U3 application like this: "Windows has allocated a drive letter to the U3 drive that is already taken ...", the likelihood is given that it's caused by an assigned Network drive - typically in an work environment (in my "H:" was already assigned). This is claimed to be a "known problem with Windows", but to this date U3 has not published another work-around than disconnecting the network drive and mounting the Cruzer and then remount the network. Unfortunately this "fix" isn't permanent and has to be re-applied everytime you want to mount the Cruzer. Cumbersome!
(Work-around: In my case re-assigning "H:" to arbitrarily chosen "W:" did avoid the issue. It seems that U3 insists on temporarily assigning the drive "H:" even if in the end only "F:" and "G:" are used.)
Further, the security feature may interfere with computers with restricted user rights and render the Cruzer Contour useless until you remove U3 and reformat as a normal flash drive.
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