A USB flash drive that's a tank

Computerworld - From the moment you pick up the new DataTraveler Secure Universal Serial Bus flash drive from Kingston Technology Co., you notice something different from other recent entrants into this market. This drive is bigger, heavier and dark metallic gray. It appears to be made to take abuse, and with 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard hardware-based encryption and password protection, it's also as secure a drive as you can purchase today -- with perhaps the exception of a biometrics-enabled drive (such as SanDisk Corp.'s Cruzer Profile).

The drive is aimed at the retail and the small and midsize business markets.

Unlike other USB drives, which are trending toward being smaller, Kingston went the other direction. Its drive is almost a full inch longer than other premium drives such as SanDisk's Cruzer Titanium drive and more than a half inch longer than Lexar Media Inc.'s JumpDrive USB flash drives. This has to do with the fact that Kingston's drive is all about data protection and not about functionality, such as what you get with Lexar's PowerToGo or SanDisk's U3 smart-drive technology, which allows you to store Windows PC user preferences, profiles and settings (see "USB flash drives get to work").

Kingston's DataTraveler flash drive is waterproof at depths of up to four feet and comes in a titanium-coated, stainless steel case. The DataTraveler is also among the fastest drives on the market. This USB 2.0-compliant flash drive can transfer data while encrypting it at 24MB/sec. reads and 10MB/sec. writes. By comparison, the Lexar JumpDrive Lightening peaks out at 30MB/sec. reads and 21MB/sec. writes, but its 256-bit AES data encryption feature will slow it down somewhat because it is not hardware-based.

The DataTraveler comes with MyDataZone software for password access control to different partitions you can create on the drive. In 2007, Kingston plans to ship the DataTraveler Secure -- Privacy Edition, featuring a password protocol that locks you out after 10 consecutive failed password attempts.

One thing that did surprise me about this sturdy drive was the dinky 2-in.-long lanyard. It was so thread-thin that I wasn't sure whether to attach it or floss with it. It is strong, however. I couldn't break it no matter how hard I pulled on it.

Pricewise, the DataTraveler is more expensive than other premium drives in its class. A 512MB version costs $33, and a 4GB version will set you back $244 (manufacturer's suggested retail price). By comparison, a 4GB Lexar JumpDrive Lightening goes for $199 MSRP, and a Cruzer Titanium 2GB model -- the largest capacity SanDisk offers -- costs $74.99. Kingston's 2GB DataTraveler drive will cost you $108.

The DataTraveler comes in 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB capacities and is compatible with Windows 2000 and XP.

Overall, I like this drive because of its increased size and security features -- I lose these things left and right. In a showdown, however, I think the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium or the Lexar Lightening drive beat it out because of greater functionality and better price.

Read more about storage in Computerworld's Storage Knowledge Center.