Universal Smart Drive USB 32MB Flash Memory Stick Hard Drive
Written: Apr 11 '03 (Updated May 06 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small, painless to use, plug-n-play. Port extender included.
Cons: There's smaller ones out there.
The Bottom Line: Great alternative to floppy drives and disks, especially if you use a lot of different computers.
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| pilotpat's Full Review: K and C Technology K and C Tech. Universal Smart D... |
I work (and play) on several computers throughout the day. Our PC's at work all run Windows 2000, and though I normally use the one on my desk, I often have to use other computers throughout the building, especially for presentations. My laptop is another Win 2000 machine. My old computer runs Win 98SE. Right next to it is my iMac. In addition, while on the road I often use other computers.
All these computers have a floppy drive (even my iMac has an external USB floppy) so that I can transfer files back and forth. Of course, PPT presentations can get a bit bigger than 1.4MB, so then I'm usually stuck either e-mailing them or burning a CD. But only my iMac and laptop have CD burners, so large files have been a problem in the past.
Enter the "Universal Smart Drive." I had been looking at getting one of these, but the costs were a bit too high. Then the other day, I found this one in Best Buy for 1/2 price - $28, and snapped it up. It's been a good purchase.
OUT OF THE BOX
The box contains the USD itself, a removable neck strap, a mini-CD with Win 98 drivers, a 3' USB port extension cord, and instruction manuals.
APPEARANCE/FEATURES
The drive is 1" wide x 1/2" thick x 3 1/2" long. Corners are rounded so it won't snag in your pocket. The cap that protects the USB plug clicks on/off positively and has a pocket clip on it as well as a hole through which to mount the neck strap. The neckstrap itself has a quick-disconnect feature so that you can either take the whole drive off the strap, or leave the cap attached while you use the drive.
INSTALLATION
For Win 2000/XP/Mac/Linux, this is somewhat a non-issue. Plug it into an available port (if your available ports are in the back like my old PC, the extension cord is really nice - I leave it connected and now have an up-front USB port available for other peripherals), and wait until the computer figures out what it is. It then shows up as "Removable Drive" and you save to/read from it like any other hard drive. The LED flickers red when in use, and green when dormant.
For Win98SE, you'll have to follow the driver wizard instructions onscreen (repeated in the user manual) to install the drivers that are on a wallet-sized CD. You can also download the drivers off their website, which for convenience is printed on the back of the drive itself.
To uninstall, click on the "eject" icon in Windows or drag the drive to the trashcan in Mac. The light goes green (windows) or off (Mac) and you pull it out.
DURABILITY, ETC.
The biggest threats to this, I would assume, are heat, static, physical shock and moisture. The manual says it's good for storage up to 80ºC (about 175ºF), which is hotter than I'd expect most pockets get. Operation is good up to 50ºC (about 120ºF), which is hotter than you'd want to get your laptop. As far as static, the casing is non-conductive and the cap allows you to remove/replace without touching the USB contacts, so the threat there should be relatively low. The drive is quite light-weight and should you drop it on a hard surface from pocket height, I wouldn't expect more than cosmetic damage, although I doubt the internals are shock-mounted to protect them. Due to the relatively robust nature of flash memory, it should be rather sturdy unless you plan to throw it down the stairs often.
Moisture, then, is the real threat I'd worry about. The casing is sealed well with no visible gaps. However, where the USB contacts come through the casing, it appears as if there is a less than perfectly sealed space. The cap's lanyard mounting hole does not penetrate the cap, but it does not have any sort of gasket. Although I think that with the cap on the unit should be relatively safe from small splashes (raindrops), I don't think it's waterproof should you leave it in your pants for a trip through the washer. Another moisture threat could be the humidity inside a pocket, or against your skin if you wear it around your neck. I don't think it's much of a problem, but if you really wanted to guard against it, you could put a small bead of silicon sealant around the base of the USB contacts without affecting its operation.
OVERALL
I'm really pleased with this - it's tiny (but not so small I'm likely to lose it, which is important) and holds 32MB. Not enough? You can get them up to 512MB. You can find smaller (and more expensive) units, but this one works just fine.
Recommended:
Yes
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pilotpat
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Member: Pat
Location: World Traveler
Reviews written: 96
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