DV Hardware reviews

Warning: Only buy the Kingston DataTraveler 150 from reputable dealers, a lot of the cheap drives that are circulating on eBay and other sites are counterfeit! These products may look almost exactly like the real deal but some of them don't work at all and others suffer from various issues like slow performance and significantly less storage capacity than advertised.

Over the years flash drives have become much larger, in terms of storage capacity, and more affordable. For the same price of a 256MB USB stick five years ago, you can now buy sticks with a capacity of 32GB such as the Kingston DataTraveler 150 32GB, which is the subject of this review. This drive not only offers 128x as much storage capacity as the drive you would have got five years ago - it's also a lot faster.

The DataTraveler 150 is the largest USB drive in Kingston's product lineup and it's backed by a five-year warranty.

The drive ships in a rather standard plastic blister package, and the only extra is a small keychain ring.



Here's a look at the feature list:

Capacity: 32GB

Dimensions: 3.06" x 0.9" x 0.47" (77.9 mm x 22 mm x 12.05 mm)

Operating Temperatures: 32º F to 140º F (0º C to 60º C)

Storage Temperatures: -4º F to 185º F (-20º C to 85º C)

Convenient: Pocket-sized for easy transportability

Simple: Just plug into a USB port

Practical: Stores cap securely on end of device to prevent loss of cap

Guaranteed: Five-year warranty

Compatible with: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Mac OS X 10.3x.+, Linux 2.6.x+

Oddly enough Kingston didn't list the data transfer speeds and unlike most new USB drives, this stick doesn't support Windows ReadyBoost in Vista. I don't know for sure why ReadyBoost isn't supported but it's not really such a big deal. The performance boost from ReadyBoost isn't that big and if you really want to use this feature it's a better idea to buy a cheap 1GB or 2GB USB stick instead of this 32GB model.

Lets take a closer look at the Kingston DataTraveler 150. The design of the DT150 is rather odd, the memory stick has a salmon colour with a honeycomb pattern. I'll let you decide whether it's a hottie or a nottie but it definitely stands out from the crowd.



Below is a photo of the back of the USB stick, besides a blue LED that flashes when you're transferring data there isn't really much to see here.



The DataTraveler 150 doesn't have a capless design but it can be attached on the end of the device to prevent loss of the cap. Inside the package of the USB drive there's also a small keychain ring which can be attached to the drive.

Added: October 19th 2008
Reviewer: Thomas De Maesschalck
Score: 9/10
Related Link: Kingston
Page: 1/2