It used to be that USB storage media was a small subset of any memory or media maker’s product line. Now the landscape has changed. USB storage media is fast becoming the removable media of choice for consumers, making the transition from movies as cool spy gadgets to steal confidential data to storing little Tommy’s homework in his pocket. And why wouldn’t it be when you have to compare it with power hungry external hard disks, the plethora of digital camera media that you need a reader for and the ubiquitous CD, which is larger and something you need software to write to.

The DataTraveler Elite expands on the original USB memory key by Kingston Technology. Known for their cutting edge memory products, Kingston’s original DataTraveler was a solid memory device with built-in software to protect itself; hence the travel in the name of the product. The Elite series is aimed at corporate and IT power users. By far, the DataTraveler Elite is more portable than its predecessors. Without a metal keychain attached to it, the new titanium like look is wholly plastic and explains its light weight. The orange LED has also been displaced by the more popular blue LED. In reducing the form factor, we found the new DataTraveler Elite can more easily fit into overcrowded USB slots and hubs.

USB storage is only as useful as it is available. If you cannot get it detected and running on a computer, it’s as good as paperweight. We tested the DataTraveler on a variety of brand name HP, Dell and Toshiba desktop and notebook machines. All of them, with their built in USB support, were able to load the drive without problems. We did have one workstation equipped with the original Windows XP version without any service packs, and it’s widely known that this version did not support USB 2.0; crucial to achieving the maximum throughput for the DataTraveler Elite. However, with the release of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, and Microsoft’s unceasing encouragement for home and consumer PC users to upgrade, it won’t be long until everyone can tap into USB 2.0 speeds.

With accessibility settled, we proceeded to copy a variety of files on to the device including compressed zips, images, music, documents, spreadsheets and software patches. All of them worked without a hitch. In some instances, for example when working with a Word document off the device, it was hard for us to tell the difference between working off the DataTraveler Elite and the local hard disk.

Using the USB 2.0 interface, the DataTraveler Elite promises read speeds of 24MB/sec and write speeds at 14MB/sec. A 450MB binary file took approximately one minute to write. Reading the same file back to the hard disk took forty-five seconds. Although these claims are far from today’s speediest hard drives, it’s still respectable enough and it makes the difference between using the DataTraveler Elite as a storage device to shuttle files between computers or working directly off the device itself. We found ourselves doing a lot of the latter.