USPs of the latest USBs
USPs of the latest USBs
The ubiquitous pen drive goes by many aliases; the USB drive, key drive or flash drive. Most pen drives today allow a whopping one million write and erase cycles—approximately—and can retain data for up to10 years. Here are the storage and price points of the newest pen drives in the market.
Up to 16GB
TRANSCEND
The JetFlash 330 launched in India in April by Transcend is a white gloss finished drive weighing 8.5g. It has a transfer speed of up to 15MB/second and is compatible with Windows ReadyBoost (a Windows 7 feature). It is available in three capacities and colours: 4GB (green) at Rs525, 8GB (purple) at Rs950, and 16GB (lavender) at Rs1,850.
For those looking for faster data transfer rates, the JetFlash 620 range that launched in May has a 32MB/s transfer rate and write speeds of up to 18MB/s. It is available in three sizes—8GB at Rs960, 16GB at Rs1,850. It comes with a lifetime warranty.
STRONTIUM KEY SERIES
The Singapore-based brand Strontium brought out the Key Series in May. The product is compact and is priced at Rs349 for 2GB and Rs499 for 4GB (the cheapest options available). The drive has transfer speeds of up to 480Mbits/s for USB 2.0.
32GB
CORSAIR
The Corsair Flash Voyager GTR 32GB has a shock-resistant rubber body. It is based on the SLC (single-level chip) and comes with wear-levelling technology giving it greater doggedness. It is also said to be water-resistant. It has approximate write speeds of 28MB/s and greater, making it the best buy for faster and snappier data transfers. It costs Rs5,800.
SONY CLICK SERIES
This pen drive clicks open and shut like a ballpoint pen with a single push. Its prism LED illuminates in an indication of when it’s in use, allowing users to check the status of the data transfer. Also compatible with Windows ReadyBoost, the ultra-sleek drive weighs 9g. The Virtual Expander software also compresses data store up to three times more.The price of the 32GB Click is Rs5,000, and it’s available in a blue LED colour with a five-year warranty.
64GB
SANDISK ULTRA BACKUP
128GB
STRONTIUM HULK SERIES
The Hulk Series has a storage capacity of 128GB providing business solutions to store additional data and files. The product comes with an encryption to protect any data that users might need for work-related
issues, especially when more and more people take their work home. Available in a silver colour, the Hulk 128GB costs a whopping Rs19,999.
256GB
KINGSTON’S DATATRAVELER
The 310 USB Flash drive features 256GB capacity (the highest capacity drive currently available in pen drives). There’s plenty of room for movies, high-resolution photos, applications, graphics and other large files. The DataTraveler 310 has a protective cap that snaps on to the back of the drive for convenient storage when not in use. This drive is available only in 256GB and is backed by a five-year warranty. The data transfer rate is approximately 25MB/s and the read rate is 12MB/s. The DataTraveler 310 features Password Traveler software, which allows the user to create and access a password-protected privacy zone. The secure area of the drive can account for up to 90% of the drive’s capacity and does not require administrator rights. The drive costs Rs45,990.
varuni.k@livemint.com
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