A few years ago I got a Lexar 2GB USB flash drive for Christmas. It came in a small, unattractive package and stood amongst other far more valuable items. In retrospect, it was probably one of the single greatest and most useful gifts that I’ve ever received. The drive stood with me through a lot and never once failed. Not even when I lost its cap and feared the USB slot would be damaged in my pocket. It endured admirably and eventually became one of my most important possessions.
As a college student, a properly stocked flash drive is an invaluable tool. Backing up files like papers and projects is an absolute necessity and solid state, portable storage is probably the best possible way to complete the task. There is an inestimable variation of options out there, but after receiving from SanDisk a 2GB Cruzer Titanium and a 4GB Cruzer Micro, there is really only one option I’d consider for my preciouses.
The Cruzer Titanium is by far the best flash drive I’ve ever used. Not only does it maintain extremely fast write speeds via USB 2.0, its titanium casing looks quite attractive. Plus it can live through being rolled over by a car, so you can feel completely confident with the safety of your data. The only real complaint is that it only comes in capacities up to 2GB. So if you need more storage space than that, I suggest looking at the 4GB Cruzer Micro. This is essentially the same drive except that it comes in a typical plastic case. Hopefully SanDisk can motivate itself to increase the capacity of the titanium soon.
Both drives support the incredibly useful U3 platform. I use a lot of public terminals and I’ve begun to wonder how I ever lived without this. U3 allows users to launch a variety of programs directly from the drive. I used several programs from my older Lexar drive, but U3 makes it significantly easier to run portable software, particularly for the Luddites.
Perhaps the most useful development over my older flash drive is the sliding mechanism both of these Cruzer drives utilize to engage the USB port. That means there is no meddlesome cap to lose. One problem, however, is that the USB slot remains exposed. As I previously mentioned, I walked around with a capless drive for over a year and nothing ever happened, but it still makes me feel awkward. I’d like to see some little cover that snaps down to protect the USB, but I guess it’s not really necessary.
All-in-all, the Cruzer Titanium is by far the best flash drive I’ve ever used and I can’t see purchasing any other 2GB drive. The only reason I could see getting another drive is, as I mentioned above, if your capacity demands exceed the 2GB maximum of the Titanium line–in which case you should consider the 4GB Cruzer Micro which provides identical performance. Otherwise, there is really no excuse.