Probably Bigger Than Your First Hard Drive
Written: Aug 20 '04 (Updated Aug 24 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Small, works with most computers, cheap
Cons: none!
The Bottom Line: It is very useful and convenient!
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| islandalex's Full Review: SimpleTech USB 2.0 Flash Drive (128 MB) (STI-USB2F... |
Probably Bigger Than Your First Hard Drive
The advances in the world of computers are amazing… The USB 2.0 Flash Drive from SimpleTech is tiny, and very efficient.
I have always looked at the silly flash drives and thought… why? I have a camera with a large compact flash card. Why would I need anything else? Well, here goes:
I found out, recently, that using my camera’s expensive Compact Flash as transport was causing more problems. Windows left so many fragments of information on it that it sent my camera on a downward spiral (well, I almost threw it down…). Luckily, all I had to do was reformat the card.
Now, I have a friendly little USB drive devoted solely to transferring files.
The Packaging
Packaging is always very important to me. This came in one of those really annoying bubble packs where you have to use a really tough pair of scissors to cut it out. In doing so, I shredded the information card that came with it. So, I had to learn by trial and error.
The Flash Drive
The drive is about the size of my thumb. I am a very small girl, so I am sure you can figure it out. It can fit in any pocket, purse, or camera bag. Unfortunately, it resembles a tampon. I have whipped it out and left quite a few guys embarrassed!
The sleek drive has a hole at one end so that you can tie it on a string. If you loose things easily you can tie it around your neck! The hole is small enough for most string, and shaped for easy insertion. Thankfully, It is on the opposite end to the lid (and USB port) so you could plug it in with the thing still attached to your neck!
Back to the lid… It does not snap on, but it has yet to fall off, so I imagine that it is pretty tight. Pulling it off reveals a standard USB port. While the drive is 2.0 it is still backwards compatible.
The Performance
I was a bit worried that I had thrown away all the information about the drive, but I decided to be brave and try it anyway. Well, what a wimp I was for nothing. The drive couldn’t be more simple. I plugged it into my Toshiba Satellite 1905-S303 , the computer thought for a few seconds, and then I was given the standard windows options to open/transfer/do nothing with the drive.
The drive shows up in the “My Computer” folder right after the built-in drives. It is automatically assigned the next letter in the alphabet. So, in my case, it was named “SIMPTEC F:” You can change the name if you desire. It remembers its new name each time you use the drive. Now isn’t that nice?
Now, I tried it on a laptop with windows XP, so everything should be easy! The real test came on my family’s collection of out-of-date computers. It worked smoothly on all of them. YAY!
Speed
It is fast, enough said! I am impatient, and yet, I can put up with it! It takes about 5 minutes to take it out of my bag, plug it in, copy all the files over, delete the old files, and then pack it away.
Its Usefulness
Besides the obvious task of transferring a few files, it also makes good storage. If you go on vacation, you never have enough camera cards for all your pictures. Taking your laptop defeats the whole point of a VACATION!
The Simple Tech USB 2.0 128 MB is considerably cheaper than a card for my camera of equal size. You can then carry your camera’s card reader, and a large Flash USB and use almost any computer to transfer your pictures. (Internet café, Hotel reception, etc.)
Once you have one, you will be amazed how many times it comes in handy. I didn’t realize it until I received it as a gift!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
islandalex
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Location: Neth. Antilles
Reviews written: 39
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
I'm an island girl. I love traveling, gadgets,and splurging on beauty products!
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