|
Statistics
Visitors: 942176
Advertisement
Notebook Computers
For the best deals on laptop computers visit www.Geeks.com.
|
|
Kingston DataTraveler II, II Plus, & Elite Flash Drives |
|
|
|
|
Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
|
|
Saturday, 16 June 2007 |
|
Page 1 of 5
Thanks to Kingston for the product samples.
USB flash drives are without a doubt the floppy of the 21st century. Their small size, high capacity, amazing durability, and fast transfer rates make them an ideal portable storage solution. It comes as no surprise that so many companies embraced this technology. In the past we’ve had the opportunity to check out 3 different drives, specifically the plain 64MB FlashDisk, sleek 64MB TX50, and Kingston’s original 128MB DataTraveler.
Since then much has changed. The greatest improvement came in the transition to USB2.0 which bumped up transfer rates significantly and made flash drives all the rage. A couple weeks ago Kingston announced their latest series of toys: the DataTraveler II, DataTraveler II Plus, and DataTraveler Elite. This second revision got a complete overhaul: USB2.0 support and impressive transfer rates, at least on paper. We’re here to find out if this new lineup has what it takes to make pro league.
Our DataTraveler Elite arrived in the retail package shown above. The II and II Plus (on either side of the Elite in the photo, respectively) come in similar packages, but being engineering samples ours arrived bare. The package includes the drive, a lanyard, a warranty card (5 year warranty on all their flash drives, and most products for that matter), and an installation booklet. Supposedly the II and II Plus include lanyards as well. The packaging is impossible to open without a pair of scissors or a knife.
Size wise, the II and II Plus are identical. The Elite is slightly larger in every dimension. Interestingly enough, this supposedly "huge" Elite drive is about the same size as Kingston's first generation DataTraveler. This obviously makes the new drives more compact and attractive to potential keychain wearers. The lanyard says Kingston Digital Media on it and includes a snap-off section so you don't have to take it off every time you need to access the drive. Each drive has a loop on the end to feed the attachment cord through. It takes a bit of work to get it in there and may require a needle or some other long, thin object. Here are the specs for the individual drives:
DataTraveler II and II Plus:
-
- Capacities: 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB
- Dimensions: 2.67" x 0.829" x 0.355" (67.7mm x 20.8mm x 9.0mm)
- Operating Temperature: 0º C to 60º C
- Storage Temperature: -65º C to 60º C
- Compatibility: Designed to Hi-Speed USB 2.0 specifications
- Fast - II Plus: Data transfer rates of up to 19MB/sec. read and up to 13MB/sec write
II: Data transfer rates of up to 11MB/sec. read and up to 7MB/sec write
- Safeguarded: Includes SecureTraveler security software for Windows-based systems
- Convenient: Pocket-sized with lanyard for easy transportability
- Simple: Just plug and play into a USB port
- Compatible: Works with Window 98+, Me, 2000, XP
- Guaranteed: Five-year warranty
- Customizable: Co-logo program available
- Data Retention: 10 years
DataTraveler II Elite:
-
- Capacities: 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB
- Dimensions: 3.1" x 0.9" x 0.4" (77.4mm x 22.1mm x 10.1mm)
- Operating Temperature: 0º C to 60º C
- Storage Temperature: -40º C to 70º C
- Fast: Data Transfer rates of up 24MB/sec. read and up to 14MB/sec write
- Safeguarded: Includes TravelerSafe+ access security software for Windows
- Secure: Utilizes 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) hardware-based encryption (privacy zone)
- Simple: Just plug and play into a USB port
- Compatible: Works with Window 98+, Me, 2000, XP
- Easy to Use: Includes My Traveler file management software and boot utility++
- Guaranteed: Five-year warranty
- Customizable: Co-logo program available
- Data Retention: 10 years
The main differences between the drives are their transfer rates. In short:
- DataTraveler II: 11MB/s read, 7MB/s write
- DataTraveler II Plus: 19MB/s read, 13MB/s write
- DataTraveler II Elite: 24MB/s read, 14MB/s write
As you can tell, the Elite is supposed to be over twice the speed of the vanilla version. The other big difference is 128-bit hardware based data encryption, as opposed to the software encryption on the other drives. We'll see what kind of performance benefit you'll encounter shortly with the various parts. The lowest model you can get is a 128MB DataTraveler II. Other sizes include 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, and 2GB. Of course 2GB drives were available over a year ago, but they're now a lot more affordable.
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next > End >>
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 16 June 2007 )
|
|
|
