Review of the Kingson DataTravler Flash Drive

The Kingston DataTraveler USB Flash Drive, available with 512 MB, 1 GB, or 2 GB of storage, is a wonderful gadget. Although it is not quite as snappy in appearance as some flash drives, it is very cheap, very reliable, and backed by a five year warranty. It is wonderfully convenient, allowing you to put large files in your pocket, and makes a great option both for backup and data transfer. It is durable, too-mine has survived for almost a year so far, riding around on my keychain, and going through the rigors of daily life in my pocket. It is a great flash drive, and an incredibly useful thing to have.

If you don't already have a flash drive, you are missing out on one of the great marvels of modern technology. The idea, essentially, is this: you have a little object, about the size of a stick of gum, that plugs into your computer's USB port and stores data. It works just like a mini external hard drive, except that it is physically much smaller. It is plug-and-play compatible with Macs, PCs, and computers running Linux, and appears just a second after plugging it in. Although old jump drives only had enough storage space to back up important documents on, modern ones like the DataTraveler can easily hold a movie or to. Use it to back up your data, carry your important files back and forth between home, school, and work, and move large files between computers.

I use my 512 MB drive primarily for backup purposes. If you haven't already figured this out, the briefcase option in Windows works wonderfully for this purpose. Create a briefcase on the flash drive, and drag the folder you want to back up into it. To back up, simply right click the briefcase and push "synchronize." The folder will automatically updated to hold the exact same files held in the original folder.

If you are deliberating which size to get, I would recommend the 2 GB model. For under $25, only slightly more than the 1 GB model, it will give you the added versatility of that much more storage. 2 GB is enough space to store two movies, or several days worth of music. Even if you plan to use it primarily for backup, it will be nice to have this capability.