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Technology Bytes
by Francine Brokaw
Imation Swivel Flash Drive
With a high speed USB 2.0 interface, this miniature device can be a computer user’s best friend. The new 1 gigabyte storage size is currently the largest on the market and the size of the device is among the smallest. This tiny little unit can go anywhere, and the swivel cap means you won’t misplace or lose it. Simply swivel the cap around and the unit is ready to use. When you’re finished, swivel the cap back to protect the information and the drive. It’s an all in one unit with more storage capacity than you’ve ever dreamed of in a flash drive.
The little unit may look anemic, but it’s strong and powerful. It can be written on 100,000 times! And it reads at a speed of 8 MB per second and writes at 7 MB per second. And talk about handy, the one gigabyte size can store music files, videos, data information, photos, and anything else you want to save, store, or transport. Weighing less than an ounce and measuring a mere 55mm by 17mm by 14mm, the drive is comparable in size to a AA battery!
The tiny device plugs directly into any USB port. It is designed for USB 2.0, but is backwards compatible to be able to be used with USB 1.1 ports as well. If you are running Windows XP, ME, 2000, CE 3.0 (or higher), Linux 2.4 (or higher), Macintosh OS 9.0 (or higher) all you do is plug the flash drive into your computer and it will do the rest. The operating system will automatically detect the new hardware and install the necessary drivers. If you are using Windows 98 SE, you will need to download the drivers from the website, and then install them before running the device.
The USB Swivel Flash Drive comes in a variety of sizes from 128 MB to 1 Gigabyte, but the new 1 gigabyte is the largest, and the most bang for your buck, so to speak.
The drive comes with a USB extension cable and a neck strap. Users can download free additional software (for Windows operating systems only) for partitioning the drive and also protection from accidental erasure or unauthorized access to your data. Think about how handy this can be. Also, with a drive this large, partitioning it makes it more practical for certain users. And, you can have one private partition and a public one, so your personal data can stay personal while the drive can be utilized by different users.
Imation has been producing removable storage for over fifty years and is recognized worldwide as a reliable company. The US- based company has a vision “to be the recognized global leader in the removable data storage media industry.” With this new unit, they really do lead the field in the mini flash drive market. Portable flash drives are becoming a necessity in today’s computing world, and the smaller the better. And now, even the smallest unit holds the most information! This unit gets my vote.
© 2004 Francine Brokaw
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