| OCZ Technology Mega-Kart 8GB USB Flash Drive
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Conclusion:
As the price of flash memory becomes more affordable, people are ditching their "old" 512MB USB drives and moving up (sometimes way up) in the capacity department. If you are in the market for a flash drive to replace an older, lower capacity unit, this may be the step up you are looking to make. The shape and size of the OCZ Technology Mega-Kart are nothing like what you would find with a typical USB flash drive, and I like it. Although I can't clip it on to a key chain or (comfortably) stuff it in the front pocket of a pair of jeans, it fits well in a coat pocket, or even in a wallet. The credit card like shape makes it small enough to be easily portable and helps eliminate some fears of losing it since it is that small.
Benchmark performance was respectable overall, and the Mega-Kart put up especially impressive numbers in HD Tach. Getting down to business with real world testing revealed a mixed bag, with read speeds being impressively fast, while write speeds (especially on small files) were so poor the testing was repeated several times. Other than the issues with write speeds, there are no concrete negatives to list. I do have concern over the design of the USB cable, as it seems somewhat flimsy. With all the bending and twisting required to connect the device, I anticipate that any premature failure will occur in the area of this thin, rubberized lead. I can't predict that anything will ever happen, and hopefully it won't, but as a mechanical engineer I get the sense that this may be a weak spot.
A search of PriceGrabber shows that the 8GB Mega-Kart will set you back $144.50 (US) or more at this time. At roughly $18/GB it may seem like a good chunk of change when compared to hard drives, but when compared to other high capacity USB flash drives it is rather attractive. Taking a look around PriceGrabber for other USB flash drives with 8GB capacities shows that prices are all over the board. Ranging from around $100 (US) up to prices too high to even consider. The OCZ Technology Mega-Kart's price is competitive with all of these options considered, and is actually smaller than many of the devices that happen to cost less. The attractive pricing coupled with OCZ's reputation for quality and the unique size/shape make the Mega-Kart a good value.
Considering this uniquely designed devices affordability, the OCZ Technology Mega-Kart 8GB USB Flash Drive earns the distinction of the "Good Value" award. If the write speeds were higher and more consistent, it could easily be the "dream come true" OCZ touts it as.
Pros:
» Fast read speeds
» Credit card sized, can be stored easily in a wallet or coat pocket
» Competitively priced
Cons:
» Slow write speeds
» USB cable seems flimsy and that it would be the likely point of any problems
Special thanks to OCZ Technology for providing the OCZ Technology Mega-Kart 8GB USB Flash Drive to Bigbruin.com for review!
Please drop by the Bigbruin.com Forum and feel free to post any comments or questions.
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