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Test Setup
ABIT NF7-S nForce2: Barton 2500+, 2 x 256MB Corsair TWINX PC3200 Ram, ATi AiW Radeon 9700 Pro, 120GB Western Digital SE 8MB Cache, Windows XP SP1, nForce 2 Unified Driver Package 2.03, ATi Catalyst 3.4.
The test files will be some high quality digital camera pictures, averaging about 2.5MB. In the first test, we'll be transferring 13MB of images in one zip file, and the second test will be the five files separately (totalling 13MB). The Crucial Gizmo! will go head-to-head against the Trek Thumbdrive. Both devices will be connected directly to the NF7-S USB 2.0 port.
The second test will be 80 images (totalling 115MB) transferred. Like the smaller test, we'll be zipping the images into one zip file, then testing again with all the files separate. Only the Crucial Gizmo! will be tested here. To test for USB speeds, the Gizmo! will be connected to the NF7-S USB 2.0 port, and to our MS Natural Keyboard's USB 1.1 port.
13MB Data Transfer
Although both devices are connected to the same USB 2.0 port, the Crucial Gizmo! does hold a significant lead over the Trek Thumbdrive in data transfer speeds. Other than the speed advantage, there's the storage advantage as well, but you can buy higher capacity Thumbdrives anyways.
115MB Data Transfer
Whether you choose USB 2.0 or 1.1, there will be no speed advantage when using the Gizmo! flash drive. I would account the performance differences to the fact that the data needs to move through the USB cable on the keyboard, but otherwise, performance is identical.
SiSoft Sandra File System Test
The SiSoft Sandra benchmarks are in line with what we normally see with USB flash drives. Don't expect to break any speed records, but it gets the job done, and at least it's faster than a Zip.
Final Words
The Crucial Gizmo! proved to be a reliable device throughout testing, and I've been making heavy use of it over the past three weeks without issue. There are going to be times you need to grab some files off a friend or colleague's PC, and they may not have a burner, and a device like this comes in handy.
Cost per MB is fairly high, ringing in at about 0.43$/MB. Compare that with a CD, which will average less than 0.01$/MB, and you'll see that CDs are a much better bargain. However, the Crucial Gizmo! is much easier to transport, and it is useful if you don't have much information to carry around. For laptop users, not everyone has a CD burner built in, but almost any laptop will have a USB connection. The Gizmo! would make a good purchase if you have Word documents, or other small files you need to take with you if you need to exchange with other users.
I do think Crucial did drop the ball on not providing USB 2.0 speeds, as there aren't many flash drives that can boast that. If the drive was capable of those speeds, it likely would have received a high recommendation from us. It does beat emailing 100MB to yourself/colleague, and it is easier to carry around than a CD. It isn't for everyone, but I, for one, find it very useful.
Pros: Good speed for a flash drive, 128MB storage, USB, compact.
Cons: Not true USB 2.0, high cost per MB.
Bottom Line: Though cost per MB is high, the Gizmo! is quite a bit cheaper than some name brand flash drives. USB 2.0 speeds would have been nice, but the Gizmo! is faster than other drives we've tested.
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Crucial Gizmo! 128MB USB Flash Drive: Not many of us use floppies anymore, but there are times when you need to transport some small files from one place to another. A flash drive is perfect for these scenarios.
