Looking to purchase your very first USB flashdrive? If you don't mind the steep price, Sony's slick Micro Vault Elite will please with its features and top performance.Meet the latest addition to Sony's Micro Vault family. The Micro Vault Elite is the company's newest USB 2.0 flash drive and quite possibly it's sexiest yet. Available in capacities of 128MB (AU$119.94), 256MB (AU$199.95) and 512MB (AU$349.95), this elegantly designed flash memory drive boasts good features and zippy performance, albeit at a marginally higher price than competing models. Fans of Sony style and trendy executives will take to the slick form but for owners of existing USB 2.0 Micro Vaults, the Elite's good looks won't offer much of an upgrade incentive.
Compared with the first-generation Micro Vaults, the new Elite--elegantly manicured with a striking dark grey finish--is sleeker and much easier on the eyes. It's slimmer and lighter, too, weighing a scant 13g and measuring a very pocketable 20 x 11 x 78mm. A small loop at the end of the device's cap accommodates a keyring. One downside of the design is that the plastic cap can feel a bit loose after prolonged use.
Not many accessories are bundled with the Elite. The lack of an extended USB cable is lamentable but it's a negativity that's more likely to affect those desktops with oddly-located USB ports. Dig deeper and you'll find other accoutrements including a lanyard and Sony's Micro Vault utilities suite. The security and compression utilities are basically similar to the ones bundled with previous Micro Vaults but sadly--despite the Elite being the sixth Micro Vault model launched in the space of two years--these extra apps have not yet been made Mac-compatible.
On the other hand, Sony's Micro Vaults have a tradition of excellence when it comes to real-world performance and the new Elite is no exception. In our file transfer tests, the drive churned out some pretty good timings--along with Imation's USB 2.0 Swivel Flash Drive, the Micro Vault Elite is the only other thumbdrive we've tested so far that uploads 110MB of data in less 25 seconds (or 4.6MBps). The drive runs best when connected to a high-speed USB 2.0 port; USB 1.1 stifles its optimal speed potential.
Sony Micro Vault Elite
Company: Sony Style Australia
Price: 128MB (AU$119.94), 256MB (AU$199.95), 512MB (AU$349.95)
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 1300 72 0071
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