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Introduction:::...
Well,
it's full marks on the packaging which, despite being
considerably larger than it needs to be, is bright
and clean and very professional looking.
Of
course I'm going to moan that it's heat sealed all
the way around and that I had to break out the scissors
to open it, but I'm a consumer, I'm allowed to moan
about these things! As a manufacturer I'd probably
insist it was packaged this way so all the drives
didn't fall out in transit every time the wagon hit
a bump in the road but I'd never give them the satisfaction
of letting them hear me say that :/
The
contents of the package were fairly comprehensive
with the drive itself (a 32MB unit in this case),
a USB data cable, a lanyard (or neckstrap if you'd
sooner), a USB driver mini-CD and a reasonably detailed
quick install manual
First
reactions are that the USB Bar is very compact. Pictured
here alongside the regular M-Systems DiskOnKey you
get a feeling for just how tiny and neat it is.
Full
marks on the design! It's sleek, silver and looks
very neat. That panel that reads "Seitec"
can also be customised by USB Pen Drive to show your
company logo or slogan making these a great gift for
that "employee of the month" scheme or just
for general business promotions.
The
build quality seems very good but I'd be lying if
I said it struck me as one of the best on the market
in terms of its build quality. It's NOT as well put
together as the DiskOnKey but then again that's a
bit like saying a Ferrari is not as well put together
as a Volvo. It may be true but that doesn't always
make the Volvo a better car. I've no reall concerns
over build quality but I di get the distinct feeling
that a well used USB Bar will soon begin to loose
its lovely silver surface finish and start to look
a little.....well.....loved shall we say..
There's
a single amber activity light on the USB Bar which
lights to signify data is being read or written.
Alas
the USB Bar has fallen at the same hurdle most Flash
drives fall at, and one I have a bit of a bee in my
bonnet about. You see sometimes I like to clip my
Flash drive to a note pad, or to the outside of a
pocket. This is fine but if the cap and the drive
part company and I have to loose one of them forever
I want it to be the cap I lose and not the drive.
For that reason I really do prefer it when the pocket
clip is on the body of the drive and NOT on
the cap. To date only the V-Tec
V-Drive
has featured this.
The
other thing that bugs me, not just with this drive
but with nearly all of them is what do you do with
the cap when you've taken it off? Almost all Biro's
and marker pens let you store the lid on the opposite
end, have you any idea how easy it is for somebody
as absent minded as I am at times to lose the cap
on these things? Can't they at least attach the cap
the the body with a thin cord or something equally
simple? Sorry, I'm ranting again!
Of
course the easiest way to carry a Flash drive is to
sling it around your neck and this is an option with
the USB Bar as it comes supplied with a woven blue
neckstrap, or at least mine was blue.
There's
also a quick-release fitting at the end so you attach
and detatch the drive without having to keep taking
the strap off.
The
only other noteworthy feature is the data security
lock. In the "locked" position data can't
be written or erased from the USB bar while in the
unlocked position data can be amended at will.
Naturally
you're going to curse at needing a Biro or other suitably
pointy implement to flick the switch but not as much
as you'd curse if it moved by accident and you inadvertently
deleted the only working copy of last month's accounts!
So
that's the USB Bar, a very neat and dinky little Flash
drive that looks the part and is well put together.
So how about the price and the performance?
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