X-bit labs

USB Flash Drives Roundup with 1GB Storage Capacity. Part II

Category: Memory

by Andrey Kuznetcov

[ 01/05/2007 | 10:45 AM ]

Today we are going to introduce to you another 12 models from the 1GB USB flash drives segment. We will talk about solutions from A-Data, Apacer, Kingston, PQI, Pretec, Sony, Transcend and TwinMos. Read more in our new article now!

Table of contents:

• Testing Participants
  
• A-DATA My Flash PD0 1GB
  
• A-DATA Oriental Elite PD3 1GB
  
• Apacer Handy Steno HA202 200x 1GB
  
• Kingston Data Traveler Secure 1GB
  
• PQI Traveling Disk U190 1GB
  
• PQI Cool Drive U339S 1GB
  
• Pretec i-Disk BulletProof 2GB
  
• Pretec i-Disk ChaCha 1GB
  
• Pretec i-Disk Wave 1GB
  
• Sony MicroVault Tiny USM1GH 1GB
  
• Transcend JetFlash V60 TS1GJFV60 1GB
  
• TwinMOS Mobile Disk R3 1GB
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Performance in Intel IOMeter
  
• Sequential Read & Write
  
• Random Read & Write
  
• Average Access Read & Write Time
  
• Performance in FC-Test
  
• FC-Test 1.0
  
• FC-Test 2.0
  
• Conclusion
  

Notwithstanding the ever-increasing speed of USB flash drives, there are still a number of devices selling that may disappoint you with their performance. They may differ dramatically from what you can expect after reading reviews of the most recent models. Why? Because transitioning to new technologies isn’t accomplished in a moment. Some of the production facilities are still turning out flash memory chips and controllers that are not up to today’s requirements anymore.

These electronic components are widely used by manufacturers from South-East Asia who often omit to declare their real characteristics or any characteristics at all. This review is intended to cast some light upon this situation. We’ll try to find out what USB flash drive is indeed the fastest at practical use.

You can also check out our USB Flash Drives Roundup with 1GB Storage Capacity. Part I for more solutions.

Testing Participants

A-DATA My Flash PD0 1GB

The design of this drive betrays the manufacturer’s desire to create as small a device as possible. And they did create it by making the drive foldable. The USB connector is to be flipped back from the miniature plastic case painted a lilac hue. The drive supports USB 2.0. Its dimensions are 34x22x11mm.

It comes with a USB cable, a small loop (to wear the device on the hand, probably), and a miniature CD that contains drivers, a user manual and Format and Lock utilities. The former program is for formatting and partitioning the drive; one partition can be protected with a password. It also allows making the drive bootable. The Lock program is for controlling access to the private area.

This device comes to retail at an average price of $33.