A pocket-sized FD with a sleek appearance and good features
By Paul Marc Rañon
We at the Technews Lab are very much at ease using flash drives (FDs) almost everyday. Compared to having most of our files “burned” on a CD-R or CD-RW using the Nero software, it takes only a minute or so to copy and drag the files to a flash drive. Some FDs are just that, while others are MP3/MP4 players with a secondary FD feature.
But the drawback of the latter kind of FDs is bulk and they can only accommodate up to 1GB of data. And when you carry them, they don’t exactly improve your looks. So, what’s our alternative?
What if we say that we found out that there is an FD that is about the size of your credit card and has only a thickness of about of three of them? We’re not kidding; it’s for real! This is the PQI Card Drive U510 2GB Mobile USB Flash Drive, and the peeps of the Technews Lab were (quite) intrigued about it.
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PQI Card Drive U510 2GB Mobile
USB Flash Drive | |
The U510 was developed by Taiwan-based Power Quotient International Co., Ltd. (PQI). According to its website, PQI is one of the largest memory module manufacturers and ranked among the top ten DRAM and Flash Drive manufacturing companies in the world.
When the FD was given to this writer for review, he scratched his head first and expressed disbelief. How the heck can this credit card-sized FD be 2GB? Well, that’s how high technology has become so advanced; FDs are getting smaller and thinner. Out of the box, the package includes the 2 GB Card Drive, a protective pouch, a 2 foot USB extension cable, a quick start guide, and an instruction card.
The U510 is made out of an aluminum alloy casing, and has dimensions of 54 x 85 x 3 millimeters (2.13 x 3.35 x 0.12 inches) and weighs only a mere 20 grams (0.04 lb). You could hardly imagine a 2GB FD that measures only 3 millimeters thin, requires no external power to function, and stores any type of data. Talk about getting handy and mobile. The U510 has the perfect height and width that ensures easy sliding in and out of your pocket.
As we plugged it to our office PC desktop, and laptop (Dell Precision M65) using the USB extension cable, the U510 was quickly recognized and installed, giving the impression that it’s a hot swappable, Plug & Play compatible device. The U510 is compatible with operating systems (OS) that include Windows ME, 2000, XP, Mac 10.1 or above. But for Windows 98 users, the Technews Lab advises that you download the driver first from the PQI website, before plugging in the FD.
The U510’s USB connector is cleverly hidden away on the underside of the card and can be pulled out, revealing an almost silver-colored, flexible, ribbon cable that can be plugged even in some tight spaces. During data connection transfer, the U510 has a bright blue LED connector on the top of the USB connector that flashes during operation.
We noticed that some flash cards have several bundled application suites. As far as the U510 is concerned, it has the so-called “USB Notebook” which is a Windows-only application suite that synchronizes, stores, and secures data in one. Our tech guys observed that it works much like a FD and uses a portion of its memory for a virtual CD-ROM device in order for Windows to autorun the USB Notebook application.
We find this unique application a very good means to browse, e-mail, and store documents. The USB Notebook has features that include:
Mobile Browser – a portable Internet Explorer that keeps your favorites with you while on the go
Web Account – a secure password manager for IE
Mobile E-mail - a portable Outlook Express that keeps all your e-mail and contacts handy on the go, and off the local machine's hard drive
Sync Center – a 1-way and mixed-way synchronization of your favorites, mailboxes, address book, and My Documents folder
PC-Lock utility – a utility that turns the Card Drive into a security token for a specified number of hours that when removed, locks the computer until the Card Drive is reinserted or a password is typed in
But even with these features, there are two bundled applications that we find problematic. First is the Web Account, which sometimes doesn't recognize when the Internet Explorer (IE) navigates to a site with a saved password. And second is the PC-Lock utility which was security bypassed by our techs in a few seconds. Talk about having an E-security breach!
Although the write speed of the U510 is quite below average when transferring large files, the read speed is good. We get the impression that the U510 has an average mark for a 2GB FD, and it appears that the U510 takes more credit because of its looks.
Despite these shortcomings, the U510 is a handy, pocket-sized 2GB FD that shows good promise. The PQI Card Drive U510 2GB Mobile USB Flash Drive has sleek appearance, perfect size, and generally good features that give style-conscious users quite a kick.
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