Testing

To test the Pen Drive, I first plugged it in. Once it was plugged in, Windows XP auto-installed it for me, and then a popup for Drive E: (the pen drive in this case) opened up. I transferred as many JPEGs onto the usb drive as I could, and it took about 20 seconds for the files (~30MB) to completely transfer. Once they were on the USB drive, I transferred them back to my computer and it took the same amount of time. The USB drive works, but testing isn't over quite yet... The next thing I did to test the drive was 'lock' it via the security switch located on the side. To reach the switch I had to use tweezers, which is sort of a pain, but it is supposed to be. If it wasn't a pain to switch, anybody could unlock your secure device in just seconds. Because of its size and the fact that it is recessed into the plastic, you need something to switch it, but anyone can use tweezers, so in theory it is not really secure at all. What I would like to see for secuirty is perhaps a key that when taken out, enables the write protection, and when inserted, disables write-protection. Anyway, I switched write-protection to the ON position, plugged in the Pen Drive once again, tried to transfer files, and I got an error message saying the disk is write-protected (see image below). So the secuirty feature works, now let's benchmark the speeds of this usb drive using both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0. The benchmark used for the tests was SiSoft Sandra Standard. The test-machines' specs can be found below.

USB 1.1 Test Rig Specs

M7VIG, AMD AthlonXP 2100+ (1.73Ghz), 512MB PC2100, GF4 Ti4200, SB Live! 5.1, Cendyne 52x CD-RW, 16x DVD, Seagate Barracuda IV 7200rpm 80GB 2mb cache, Enermax 460W PSU.

USB 2.0 Test Rig Specs

KT400A LANPARTY, AMD Athlon 1.4 Ghz, 512MB PC2100, GF3 Ti200, SB Live MP3+ 5.1, ATI TV Wonder VE, 40GB 7200RPM Seagate, Lite-On 16x DVD, 420W PSU.

USB Drive Benchmarks

USB 2.0

Pen Drive (USB 2.0)

Jet Flash (USB 2.0)

Pen Drive (USB 1.1)

Jet Flash (USB 1.1)

6286

904

965

904

0

Transfer Speed (kb/s)

7701

 

 

Conclusion

Overall the Pen Drive is an outstanding device and the optional base makes it a convenient solution for your data storage needs. This usb drive has a built-in secuirty feature but if you want full-secuirty you should get the SECURE version of the Pen Drive. If you are in the market for a USB drive, I highly recommend the Pen Drive for its speed, 2.0GB capacity (max capacity available), and ease of use.

Pros

Compact data storage
Fast data transfer (USB 2.0 compatible)
Up to 2.0GB capacity available
Optional neckstrap and pocket clip
Optional base

Cons

Large capacity PenDrive is pricy!