A no-frills pen drive
AUSB pen drive is meant to carry your data. Well, that’s what the Kingston DataTraveler 100 4GB is all about (also available 1, 2, and 8 GB). The drive is sleek and beautifully crafted in a black polymer casing. Unlike most other drives, this one has a retractable USB port that slides out using a thumb button at the side. The drive and the sliding mechanism exude ruggedness.
Simplicity is key here. The drive does not support Vista’s ReadyBoost feature, but is compatible with different operating systems such as Windows Vista / XP / 2000, Mac OS and Linux. The drive does not sport U3 capability, so forget about carrying your desktop with you. A disappointment for those who are paranoid about security is that it does not come with any encryption, security or backup software. The lack of (resource-taxing) on-the-fly encryption does not result in a speedier performance—instead, the drive seems lethargic and takes three minutes to transfer a 700 MB file to it, while copying it back takes just 53.1 seconds though. It is plain and simple that the Flash memory used in this drive is not very fast, but keep in mind that this is a value product and this lack of performance was anticipated. The amount of time taken to transfer the data is within acceptable limits and therefore, for its price, the Kingston DataTraveler 100 4GB is good value. It’s backed by a solid 5 year warranty from Kingston and that makes it a very attractive option for portable data storage and transfer. If you are concerned with data security and need higher speeds, however, we suggest that you go for its mightier sibling, the DataTraveler Secure 8 GB, which we tested a few months ago.
| RATINGS |
| Features : 3.5 |
| Performance : 3 |
| Build Quality : 4 |
| Value for Money : 4 |
| Overall : 3.5 |
Specifications
Capacity: 4 GB; Interface: USB 2.0; Lanyard; Dimensions: 2.04 (W) x 0.9 (D) x 6.69 (H) mm; Weight: 11.3 gm
Contact : Kingston Technology
Phone : 1800-425-4515 (Toll Free)
E-mail : techsupport_india@kingston.com
Web site : www.kingston.com/india
Price : Rs 2,272