Kingston DataTraveler 112 - 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive DT112/8GB (Black/Red)

Comment: What's Good?

It holds 8G of data, is very small and it's inexpensive. It looks nice - if you don't touch it. A small light inside the black window indicates when it is reading and writing.

What's Bad?

The protective sleeve may be a nice thought - but it is completely worthless. The sleeve only stays in place if you take it out and lay it on your desk providing a two-tone appearance. Drop this memory key in your pocket and you can count on that 'protective' sleeve sliding back rendering it pointless. There is a barely noticeable friction point that is supposed to hold the sleeve in place and it just doesn't do the job.

Comment: Sleeve gets in the way. Transfer speed is okay. Does not come with a strap and is impossible to put on your key ring by itself. Hurry and buy a strap that can hook up to this thing or else you'll lose it. I had mine for 2 months before I lost it. I tried various things to strap it to my key ring, nothing works, I should have tried to buy an actual strap that works for it. I don't get why they couldn't make it so you can just hook it onto your key ring without a strap.

Comment: The drive recognized w/o a problem on an older WinXP laptop and seems to work fine. It is very small and light. The protective slide that other reviews mentioned as falling off seems to be quite sturdy in my drive.

Comment: I love being able to carry important files with me in a neat, tiny package. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because I often find that the cover slides back during storage, exposing the connector. This was everything I expected.

Comment: I bought the 32GB version, and I was immediately shocked at how well it performed. 32GB drives tend to be excruciatingly slow, but this one easily manages 23MB/sec read and 9MB/sec write speeds for large files--faster than many current 16GB drives. This kind of performance is essential for someone who uses the drive for portable apps, so it was very much appreciated.

The sliding cover seems to snap fairly loosely in the closed position (making it a bit too easy to knock it back open by accident), but locks firmly into place in the "open" position. This is unusual, as I'd have expected it to be the other way around. But as I wear my USB drive on a chain around my neck, this isn't an issue for me--the main purpose of the cover seems to be to prevent the USB plug from snapping off, which isn't really a risk with a lanyard.

The device is about half the length of a standard USB flash drive, which protects it from being damaged when used in a laptop or netbook. Typical "full-sized" drives are a bit too easy to knock and bend by accident when using them in a mobile computer.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this product to anyone looking for a fast 32GB USB drive to use for portable apps or even just normal "sneakernet" file transfers. One word of warning, though: Buy this directly from Amazon or another well-known reputable seller. Kingston drives, particularly the larger models, are known for counterfeits.