Nearly everyone in modern society has need for portable digital storage, and therefore carry some sort of USB flash drive. They have replaced the floppy drive in terms of portable ubiquity (even Windows finally uses them to load disk drivers at install time), and it’s so convenient to be able to copy files to and from several computers. While they are small and portable, they still have their problems. Some drives are ruggedized, but can be large and have caps to lose. Other drives are small enough to fit on a key chain, but aren’t rugged enough to withstand the hostile environment of the average jeans pocket.
There are literally hundreds of USB Flash drives, and only a handfull could be considered innovative from a design standpoint. Verbatim has delivered a flash drive that appears to be small enough to not be cumbersome, has a tough rugged exterior, and is resistant to damage. They have dubbed this drive the Store ‘n’ Go Micro.
The Verbatim Store n Go Micro is also referred to as the Tuff ‘n’ Tiny USB Drive. They come in three different denominations, and each have their own color. They are available in 2GB (orange), 4GB (green), and 8GB (purple).
Penny-thin and travel-tough, the Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY™ USB Drive offers secure storage in one of the most compact, durable USB flash drives available. Designed for everyday handling and resistant to dust, water and static discharges, this drive measures up to its name and is compatible with all USB ports. It offers password security for Windows users and is enhanced for Windows® ReadyBoost™ for Windows 7 and Vista users. Perfect for carrying the files you use every day, the TUFF-‘N’-TINY™ drive comes with key ring lanyard to attach to mobile phones or key rings. Choose from capacities of 2GB, 4GB and 8GB. See for yourself how the Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY™ sizes up!
Features & Benefits
- Tiny, rugged USB drive measures 1.19 x 0.5 x 0.06 inch
- Resistant to dust, water and static discharges
- Compatible with ALL USB ports
- Password security for Windows users
- Enhanced for Windows® ReadyBoost™
- Compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP or 2000, Mac OS 9.x or higher, Linux kernel 2.6x or higher
- Bonus key ring lanyard for mobile phones or key rings
- Available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities
When I say this drive is tiny, I really mean it. It is about the thickness of a penny, and is only as long as the first part of your index finger. It looks like a small little piece of plastic, but I was unable to bend, twist or dent it with my hands. The finish also has a sleek coating so it is very resistant to scratches.
The drive has an integrated keychain hole, but is way too small to be attached to a normal keyring. A smaller type ring fits perfectly, and thankfully Verbatim has included one. The underside of the drive is black and has copper data contacts. This drive is half the height of a normal USB port, and connects to the underside of these ports. Once the contacts connect with the USB jack then the drive connects. There appear to be six beige points on the underside, but they do not appear to be electrical, and honestly I’m not sure what they are for.
The Store n Go Micro drive comes with a V-Safe application that allows you to encrypt part of all of the available space into a secure password-protected area. The VSafe application appears to be in a non-writable or protected area of the flash drive, because the application exists even if you format the drive. Once you click on the application you are brought through a Wizard that asks you how much space you want to dedicate to the Secure Area, and prompts you to set a password and hint. Completing this process reformats the drive.
Once the drive is inserted, you are asked for a password, and if entered correctly brings you to the Secure area of the drive. If you log out of the Secure Area then you access the Public area of the drive. The issue with this mechanism is that the same drive letter is used for both, so you can’t see both the Secure and Public area at the same time. This can work ok if you dedicate the entire drive as a Secure area, and I don’t see a reason to do otherwise since the capacity of this drive is (relatively) small.
We tested this USB drive against many other USB flash drives we had laying around the lab. We tested the drive using the ATTO benchmark and HDTach R/W. The following hardware was used:
- Dell Precision M4400 portable workstation
- nVidia Quadro FX 770M 512MB Graphics Card
- 4GB DDR2-800 memory
- Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 @ 2.26Ghz (check out notebooks with this processor)
- CoolerMaster Sentinel Advance 5600dpi Gaming Mouse
- Hitachi 160GB 7200RPM laptop hard drive (check out laptop hard drives)
- Windows 7 Ultimate
The Verbatim Store n Go Micro held its own against many of the other flash drives, offering an average 12MB/s write speed and 32MB/s read speed. The write speed is about what you should expect for a mid-range USB flash drive, and is easily much faster than “giveaway” promotional flash drives which only offer about 5MB/s write speed. Like other flash drives, the device performs better on smaller large files than many smaller files, so it is recommended to ZIP or RAR a bunch of smaller files before transferring. HDTach mirrored our findings, putting the Verbatim micro drive right in the middle performance-wise. It has slightly above-normal write speeds and very good read speeds, but if you want the next level of performance then you need to purchase an enthusiast-level USB drive.
Overall this is a good flash drive, and is easily one of the smallest I’ve had on my keychain. The device is much sturdier than other drives I’ve tested, even being almost completely naked. It has yet to be seen if this drive will bear the scars of other drives after prolonged isolation in my pocket, but the finish looks much more durable than cheaper housings.
I’m decently impressed with the Store n Go micro USB drive as far as mid-range drives go. Normally I only reserve space on my keychain for extremely high capacity or high-performance drives such as the Corsair Flash Voyage 64GB (reviewed here) or OCZ Rally2 Turbo (reviewed here), but this drive is so tiny that it can stow away in your pocket without any notice. With the Verbatim Store’n’Go Micro flash drive on your keychain you’ll never be without portable storage.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Comment
Update on this product: The Verbatim Tuff n Tiny didn't really last six months while on my keychain. The product had normal use, and was never accidentally washed or anything. One day when I went to use it, the drive was just a useless piece of plastic.