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USB flash drives have been around for quite a while now. Many companies now manufacture their own USB flash drives in common sizes such as 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, or even 1GB. The difficulty in making a USB flash drive is trying to differentiate it from the many competitors that exist in the market. It is difficult because there is only so much that you can do to make your own flash drive different. The main factors involve the size, style, and the speed of the drive. Today, we will be reviewing Sandisk’s flagship USB flash drive that attempts to be different from the others. From the name of the product, you immediately know it has Titanium of some sort, a very strong metal that you can predict will make the product much more durable. Although Sandisk makes other flash drives such as the Cruzer mini and micro, this product is supposedly faster than both. In this review, we’ll find out if it has what it takes to stand above the rest of the flash drives. |
A Closer Look…
The flash drive is packaged in a plastic container as what should be expected from SanDisk. The contents of the package include the drive itself, a neck band, a clip, and an instruction manual. Just by looking at the drive, you can tell that this is a very simple, yet professional looking product. The product name is clearly labeled on the front indicating that it is titanium and that it can hold 512MB of data. The back of the drive has the SanDisk logo. In actuality, the drive is titanium-coated. When looking at the drive, one may be asking where is the USB plug? Amazingly, SanDisk has taken a unique approach by hiding the USB plug within the drive. In order to reveal the plug, you slide the plastic button from the left to the right. This is a very simple function that works effectively. I tried putting some force on the plug after it is revealed to see if it would retract. It did not budge. This will ensure that the plug does not retract when you plug the drive into a USB port. The other side of the drive has a hole where you can tie the included band on. When the drive is in use, the plastic area of the drive will glow blue. This is a very nice effect. The light will blink and flash vigorously when data is moving to and/or from the drive. USB 2.0 comes standard with the drive. USB 2.0 has theoretical speeds of 480Mbps which is 40 times faster than USB 1.1. With USB 2.0, you can ensure that your data gets transferred at the fastest rate possible. As mentioned before, this product is elegantly simple. It has a slim profile design and is thin. It is not too long or to short and will definitely fit in crowded USB ports on your computer. When I had the drive in operation, I noticed that there were programs already stored on the drive. The drive includes programs that allow you to backup, synchronize, as well as secure files on your drive. These programs make this package complete with the drive. The included titanium clip fit snuggly onto the drive. This makes it easier to clip onto your pants or maybe your belt. When taking the clip off, I noticed that it left visible scratch marks where the clip held onto the drive.
Installation
Installation is very minimal when working with USB flash drives in general. Just plug it in. If you have the somewhat latest operating system, it should be able to detect it automatically. Then you’re ready to go. You will only need a driver if you are using a very old OS such as Windows 95 or 98.
Performance Testing
In order to test the drive, I started out with SiSoft Sandra 2004. With the synthetic benchmarks that this program produces, we will get a general idea of how well the drive performs. After running the removable/flash drive benchmark, the results showed that the drive was overall significantly faster for small and large files. It was able to stay ahead of competing products such as Lexar’s Jump Drive, Sony’s Microvault, and Kingston’s DataTraveler with ease. It is a good sign that the Cruzer Titanium is significantly faster when working with larger file sizes. SiSoft Sandra is a good program as a standard test, but now it’s time to move onto more real world tests. I used the HD Tach program to test the sequential and random access speeds of the drive. Based on the results, I was very impressed to find that it had a constant sequential read speed of 16.7MB/s throughout the entire test. I put the drive through grueling durability tests. Sandisk claims that the product is crush proof up to 2000lbs. Obviously, I can’t test that, but I did my best to see if the drive would stand through general harsh conditions. I stomped on it, dropped it, and even poured some water on it. The drive was still operational after those tests.
Conclusion
Sandisk’s Cruzer Titanium is an excellent product in terms of functionality and speed. The product is complete with the necessary utilities such as a locking mechanism software as well as synchronization capabilities. The only minor flaw, which shouldn’t affect a user’s decision, is that the surface of the product can show visible scratches easily. You can buy Sandisk’s Cruzer Titanium directly at their website for the retail price of $200. This is a bit more expensive than other 512MB because you are paying for the stellar transfer rates. If you are in need of one of the fastest, most durable, and complete flash drive; look no further.
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