Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 Generation 3 (G3) USB Flash Drive Review
My laptop was acting very sluggish lately so I decided to wipe my computer and re-install Windows for a fresh start. But before I could get started, I needed to put a copy of Windows onto a flash drive to install from there since my netbook does not have a CD-Rom drive. I have this very old (as in , a few years) that has a storage capacity of 2 GB and was pretty expensive at the time. I wasn’t even able to put Windows onto the flash drive because there wasn’t enough room on it! But with most technology improvements, things always get better and cheaper year after year.
One of the coolest new products that was announced at this year’s CES was Kingston’s 1TB (terabyte) USB flash drive. You can store so many photos, music and videos! I have a ‘portable’ hard drive that is at least 10 times as big and half the storage, I can’t wait until these are more commonplace and a lot cheaper.
The Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G3 USB Flash Drive is one of the newest flash drives from Kingston that utilizes fairly new USB 3.0 technology, which transfers files at blazing fast speeds with super high storage capacities. The drive itself features a redesigned sleek and slim new case. Made of an attractive solid metal matte finish case, the drive features a retractable design that protects the USB from damage while carrying on a key chain, purse or briefcase. This new feature is actually pretty useful because my other flash drive, the Patriot Xporter XT Boost 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive uses a separate end cap, which I have misplaced on more than one occasion. The drive is heavier than other flash drives I’ve used, but it’s more of a sturdy design that feels like it’ll offer excellent protection if you ever drop it. Here are some official details for the Kingston DataTraveler:
- 32GB and 64GB capacity
- USB 3.0: Read 150 MB/s, Write 70 MB/s
- USB 2.0 (backwards compatible): Read 30 MB/s, Write 20 MB/s
- Windows 8 Compatible
- Transfer files up to 8x faster than a USB 2.0 Drive
I wanted to perform some tests on the flash drive, but the results that I got on my netbook were nowhere near the estimated speeds listed above. But my netbook also doesn’t have USB 3.0, so it wasn’t really a fair test. But while I was timing the file transfers, it reminded me of this hilarious xkcd comic that I read a while back that makes fun of Microsoft and their ‘estimated time left’ feature when you transfer files around.
Where to Buy:
