The Y shaped EZ Yego USB flash drive stands out from the rest of the pack, not least of which because of its intriguing shape.
The unique ‘Y’ shape is indicative of its party trick: The EZ Yego not only stores up to 4GB of data, but it also acts as a mini hub for USB 2.0 devices.
Cool.
Read on for more..
Y IS FOR YEGO
Even gawking at it through its packaging, the EZ Yego looks a little odd. It’s ‘Y’ form and thick tubular shape really give it that different feeling. Sure, I’m a USB Flash drive, but I’m not like all the others.
In your hand the EZ Yego feels solid. It’s slightly larger than expected but its finish is first rate. The white glossy plastic is reminiscent of a certain fruity company and the translucent green in our sample gave it a neat two two tone look.
The male USB port has a cap that fits securely and a matching loop at the opposite end to attach the Yego to a key chain or lanyard.
At the bottom of the ‘Y’ is a male USB port – like any regular USB device, while the two top ends have a female USB port each, thus creating a two port USB Hub. Ingenious.
USAGE
Like any USB drive worth its weight, the Yego is automatically recognized by Windows XP without any problems. Opening up the drive in Explorer however, did yield some surprises.
The Yego comes bundled with two small applications: Webaroo v1.3.1 Portable and iStar. Under Windows 98/ME iStar allows you to boot from your USB drive, partition your drive and add password protection.
When plugged into our iMac the drive worked perfectly save for it being a little too fat to fit in Apple’s new ultra-thin keyboard USB port. When plugged into the iMac’s rear USB port, the drive worked perfectly, both for storage and as a hub – accessing and even charging our iPod without any problems via one of its female USB ports.
We tested the hub qualities of the EZ Yego Drive in numerous computers (and numerous devices) and found the Yego to work perfectly under all conditions tested.
In testing, the average read speed of the drive was an acceptable 12MB/s. While no write tests were performed, in day to day usage the drive always felt responsive.
SPECIFICATIONS
| Dimension | 69 x 28.8 x 13.5mm |
| Capacity | 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB |
| Power Supply | Powered via USB port. No external power or battery needed |
| Specification | Compliant to USB 2.0 specification with full-speed transfer up to 480Mbps |
| Weight | 17g |
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Windows® 98SE/ME/2000/XP
Mac OS 9.x or later
Linux Kernel version 2.4 or later
And a USB port, duh.
CONCLUSION
While the inclusion of a hub on a Flash drive is easy to dismiss as petty, the fact is that the EZ Yego Drive seems to pull it off: It looks interesting, has a high level of build quality and most importantly, functions adequately as both a storage device and a mini USB hub.
If you want a cool looking USB drive with a hub, or need a hub to extend your ports quickly and easily, pick up a Yego today!
Yego EZ Drives come in six colours: red, orange, blue, green, purple and black, with capacities of 1, 2 and 4GB.
The 2GB model tested is available online for around $25US, while the 1GB can be found for as little as $15US. The top of the line 4GB model costs around $50US.
To find out more about RiDATA’s EZ Yego or to find a list of online retailers, visit the RiDATA website.
