Portable USB thumb sized drives are an excellent way to move and manage data, but there's a lot of choice in the market. Which portable storage device is best?
For music lovers who want to swap their music collection or executives who want to exchange snazzy multimedia Powerpoint presentations, the standard 1.44MB storage space on a floppy disk just doesn't cut it. Thankfully, portable USB thumb-sized drives with plenty of storage space are here to save the day.
But with a number of such devices on the market, which is the one that you should get? We put three USB thumb drives--Trek ThumbDrive, IBM Memory Key, and Sony Micro Vault--through a series of tests to find out which one offers you a better deal.
Round One: Form
Trek ThumbDrive
This portable storage device weighs in at 10g and measures 65 x 17 x 7 mm. When you remove a the cap at the top of the device, you can see the USB connector which can be connected to the USB port on your PC or notebook.
IBM Memory Key
At first glance, IBM's Memory Key looks almost like the Trek ThumbDrive. That's no big surprise since IBM licenses and utilizes Trek's storage technology for its Memory Key. Weighing 15g and measuring 67 x 17 x 7mm, the cover of the Memory Key has a pen-like clip that you can use to clip to your shirt pocket.
Sony Micro Vault
Sony's designers have certainly worked overtime to differentiate their portable drives from others found in the market. With its silver outer casing and rounded edges, the 20g Micro Vault measures 92 x 26 x 13mm and has a distinct high-tech look. Sony uses different colors for different memory configurations.
When it comes to size, the Micro Vault is the biggest of the bunch. However, it's still small enough that it'll fit nicely into a shirt pocket. It's "space age" look will also win the hearts of those who want their devices to look good. But for those seeking something smaller, either the ThumbDrive or Memory Key will do nicely.
Round Two: Features
Trek ThumbDriveThe ThumbDrive comes in different storage sizes, from 8MB all the way to 512MB. Hence, you have seven different sizes (8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB and 512MB) to choose from. A disc with drivers for the device also ships with the package. Once plugged into your USB port, a green LED indicator will light up and it'll blink when data transfer is in progress. It also has a write-protect switch at the bottom of the device so you can lock your files to prevent these from being overwritten.
IBM Memory Key
The IBM Memory Key is locally available in only one size: 32MB. A CD-ROM that contains drivers for the device is included in the package. Like the ThumbDrive, the Memory Key has a green LED indicator that lights up when connected and blinks during data transfer. A write-protect switch can also be found at the bottom of the device.
Sony Micro Vault
The Micro Vault is available in four flavors: 16MB; 32MB; 64MB; and 128MB. In addition to the drivers, Security Zone software is included on the CD-ROM. This software lets you password-protect portions of the storage space. However, this only works on Windows XP and Windows 2000. Since there's no hardware write-protect feature on the Micro Vault, users won't be able to lock the device to prevent accidental overwriting of data. When connected to the USB port, the LED indicator flashes slowly. During data transfer, the LED flashes rapidly.
Since both the ThumbDrive and Memory Key have write-protect switches, they're most suitable for absent-minded users who worry that they'll overwrite their own data. But when it comes to security, the Micro Vault wins hands-down with its Security Zone feature. However, only Windows XP and Windows 2000 users will be able to benefit from this option.
Round Three: Benchmarks
To test the performance of the drives, we utilize two different tests to measure how the devices fare. HD Tach is a benchmarking software that is used to measure the physical performance of a hard drive. It measures the average sequential read and write speed of the drive. It also tests the random access time, which is the time needed to actually read data on the drive, and the read burst speed, which is the speed that data can be accessed from the drive's on-board read-ahead memory.
| Trek ThumbDrive | IBM Memory Key | Sony Micro Vault | |
| Random Access Time (milliseconds, lower is better) | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.1 |
| Read Burst Speed (megabytes per sec, higher is better) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| Average Read Speed (kilobytes per sec, higher is better) | 449.6 | 450.9 | 1288.9 |
| Average Write Speed (kilobytes per sec, higher is better) | 192.4 | 177.5 | 545.6 |
From the results, we can see that the Sony Micro Vault outperforms the other two drives in all areas. Since the IBM Memory Key uses Trek's technology, it's no surprise that the results for the Memory Key and the Thumbdrive are similar.
In addition to using HD Tach, we also timed the speed of file transfer using a stop watch. Although this method may not be entirely accurate, it gives an indication of the transfer speed in real time. Here, we transferred a 1MB file and a 10MB file to test if there's a difference in speed.| Trek ThumbDrive | IBM Memory Key | Sony Micro Vault | |
| 1MB | 1.37 secs | 1.23 secs | 3.29 secs |
| 10MB | 43.57 secs | 45.94 secs | 20.04 secs |
From the results, both the Memory Key and the ThumbDrive transfer files faster when the file size is small. But when it comes to huge files, the Micro Vault outperforms its competition by about 20 seconds.
In terms of raw performance, Sony's Micro Vault is way ahead of the ThumbDrive and the Memory Key. When it comes to transfering small files, the other two devices have an edge over the Micro Vault. But when it comes to huge files, the Sony is a better choice.
Round Four: Price
Trek ThumbDrive
Since memory and price do not increase proportionately, it doesn't mean that if 8MB costs AU$75, 16MB will cost twice that. The prices for Trek's ThumbDrives are AU$75 for 8MB; AU$99.95 for 16MB; AU$135 for 32MB; AU$235 for 64MB; AU$425 for 128MB; AU$750 for 256MB; and AU$1,499 for 512MB. Trek also sell the same models in a secure configuration, which adds AU$10-15 to the unit price.
IBM Memory Key
IBM's 32MB Memory Key sells for AU$189
Sony Micro Vault
The prices for the Sony Micro Vault are AU$99 for 16MB; AU$139.95 for 32MB; AU$199.95 for 64MB; and AU$299.95 for 128MB.
Obviously, the more storage space you require, the more you have to pay. Comparing the price of a 32MB drive, available from all three companies, there's only a few dollars between the Trek and Sony offerings, while IBM brings up the expensive side of the arrangement. Trek and Sony spar on price at higher and lower memory configurations, although on a cost per MB basis, the 128MB Micro Vault is nearly AU$1/MB cheaper than the equivalent Trek drive.
And the new champion is...?
It is tough to declare a champion when it comes to thumb drives. The Sony Micro Vault scores high in the looks department but it's a bit bulky compared to the IBM Memory Key and Trek ThumbDrive. And though the Micro Vault boasts Windows XP and 2000-only security features, it does not have a write-protect feature like the other two devices.
However, when it comes to performance, the Micro Vault tops the chart and is especially fast when transferring huge files such as MP3s and multimedia Powerpoint presentations. Having said that, while the Memory Key and ThumbDrive are slower, the difference isn't that obvious.
Pricing is also difficult to measure. At the low end Trek is the champ, with the cheapest 32MB drive. Go to 64 or 128MB, though, and Sony sits in the driver's seat. Go higher than 128MB and it's a Thumbdrive only market. At the end of the day, it's a matter of working out how much storage you need, and picking an appropriate unit based on that decision.
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