I still remember when having a flash drive with only 256 megabytes was pretty darn impressive, but man alive, has the industry advanced since those days. Continuing with the trend of massive memory in a remarkably small package is the Kingston DataTraveler 150 USB flash drive, shown here in its 32GB incarnation. For people who really want to push the envelope, Kingston also sells this drive with a whopping 64GB of flash memory. Considering that some older laptops only have 80GB hard drives, I’d say that’s pretty impressive.
The DataTraveler 150 from Kingston Technology is not the first drive to boast this kind of capacity, but as the price for flash memory continues to drop, these massive drives fall closer to the realm of possibility for the average consumer. How does this thumb drive stack up? Let’s find out.
Features and Specifications
When you get your hands on USB flash drives with this kind of capacity, the expectation is that you may have to make some sacrifices to achieve that much storage. Possibly in an effort to keep the DataTraveler 150 within the realm of reasonable affordability, Kingston skimped out a little on the features here.
While the drive has no trouble working under a Linux, Mac OS X, Windows XP, or Windows Vista environment, there is no official support for Windows ReadyBoost. I’m thinking that some people would love having an extra 32GB or 64GB of extended RAM on their computers, but they won’t be able to do it with the Kingston Data Traveler 150.
You also won’t get anything in terms of bundled software or AES encryption. Aside from breaking storage barriers, this is a pretty bare bones kind of drive. It stores a bunch of stuff and that’s about it. The DataTraveler 150 will still be great for traveling techies, so long as they don’t expect to get anything special out of it.
According to Kingston, you’ll be able to read at up to 20MB/sec and write at up to 10MB/sec. These are far from industry-leading, but they’re on par with other budget drives.
What’s Included with the Drive?
Continuing with the relatively bare bones approach, the Kingston DataTraveler 150 really comes with nothing in the package aside from the drive itself. You get a tiny loop for attaching to a keychain or a lanyard, but there is no actual lanyard in the package.
At the same time, do you really need anything bundled in with the drive aside from the USB drive itself? It’s not like you need a protective case or anything, though little extras (like USB extension cables) are oftentimes appreciated.
Build Quality and Design
Let me preface this by saying that I have a preference for drives that make use of a metal housing. The aluminum casing is cool to the touch, gives off a small sense of prestige, and can provide better protection against random bumps, bruises, and drops. In this way, I’m a little disappointed that the 32GB Kingston DataTraveler 150 (as well as the 64GB version) is wrapped up in plastic.
That said, the overall quality of this plastic is quite good. It’s definitely a thicker plastic and gives you some security that its contents will be protected from the elements. A slight torture test will reveal that the casing does have some flex to it, but it’s relatively minor.
The overall physical size of the drive is a definitely bigger than some of its smaller compatriots, but it’s not nearly as massive as something like the Corsair Padlock drive. It’ll still fit in your pocket comfortably; attaching it to your keychain may be a little more cumbersome though.
I’m not a fan of the peach color scheme on the outside, even if Kingston tried to add some style with the honeycomb design. A more neutral color for the casing would be a good idea. The ability to store the cap securely on the end of the drive while in use helps to prevent cap loss. That’s a good thing.
Performance and Benchmarks
So, how does this drive stack up when you actually put it through its paces? While it is certainly not the fastest drive available on the market today, I think that it is fast enough for the average consumer. You may have to wait a while if you’re loading a full 32GB of 64GB worth of data, but tossing around a gig or two doesn’t take all that long.
Running it through a performance benchmark in HD Tune revealed a relatively consistent transfer rate of 29MB/sec. This is a 30% improvement over something like the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium Plus, but it’s still slower than the fastest of the fast.
In a highly unscientific real world test, I pushed a 700MB onto the Kingston DataTraveler 150 from my laptop’s hard drive and this took 54 seconds, resulting in an approximate write speed of 13MB/sec. Taking that same file and sending it back to my computer took 27 seconds, resulting in an approximate read speed of 26MB/sec.
Value for Money Compared to Competitors
Kingston is marketing the DataTraveler 150 as way to help “budget-conscious users break storage barriers, allowing them to easily store and move files in a 32GB & 64GB device no bigger than a pocketknife.” If you’re on a budget but want plenty of space, this drive is supposed to be for you.
The list price for the 32GB Data Traveler 150 is about $90, but you can find it for about $60 through a few online stores.
Looking at some other comparable 32GB flash drives, the street price for a Corsair Flash Voyager drive is about $70, as is the street price for an OCZ ATV flash drive. That said, both of these latter drives can sometimes be found with mail-in rebates that bring them to a net price in the $50 range.
In this way, the Kingston DataTraveler 150 can save you $10 or more if you don’t want to deal with mail-in rebates, but real bargain hunters can sometimes score a better deal on comparable competitors. I’m thinking performance would be comparable as well.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Is the Kingston DataTraveler 150 particularly exceptional in any way? No, not particularly. It’s a no-nonsense USB flash drive for people who want a reliable source of portable memory. This is for people who itch for the extra capacity and don’t want to pay for the extra bells and whistles like AES encryption, biometric security, bundled software, or online backup options. It’s a drive that stores 32GB (or 64GB) of data in an inexpensive kind of way.
The construction is reasonably good and performance is on par with other budget-minded drives. It just so happens that this one has much more storage capacity. If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to carry around plenty of data, the 32GB Kingston DataTraveler 150 USB 2.0 Flash Drive just may be for you.
Pros
- Plenty of storage capacity
- No frills, no gimmicks
- Reliable data transfer speeds
- Solid construction
Cons
- No extra software or encryption
- Peach? Seriously?
- Casing has some give, could break
- Could have been physically smaller
Overall Rating: 8.0 / 10.0
Discuss This Review in the Futurelooks Community Forums
Kingston DataTraveler 150 32GB USB Flash Drive Photo Gallery
