Entered CNET Catalog: 03/26/2006
SKU: CT1GBUFDBLKHA0
Manufacturer: Crucial Technology
Manufacturer description
The new, high-performance Crucial Gizmo! overdrive writes data at speeds up to 13MB/s (megabytes per second). Portable, rewritable, and compatible - the Gizmo! overdrive is a convenient data transport and storage device that fits in the palm of your hand! Plus, get the peace of mind that your data is protected and encrypted against unauthorized use with the included security software. PRODUCT FEATURES: Read speed up to 25MB/s (160X); USB 2.0 flash drive; Dual-channel controller for high-performance data transfer; Small form factor - 64 mm by 20 mm (68 mm by 20 mm with cap); Rapidly flashing LED indicates when data is transferring; Plug and Play - no drivers required; Security software provides password protection, 256kb Blowfish-level encryption, and hide function.Product summary
The good: Fast; comes with simple encryption software.
The bad: No keyring; does not come in capacities above 1GB.
The bottom line: The simple Gizmo Overdrive stores your documents without getting in the way.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 08/02/2006
The drive is 2.8 inches long, 0.7 inch wide, slightly more than 0.25 inch thick, and it weighs just 0.3 ounce, making it roughly the same size and a little lighter than a five-stick pack of gum. Though the Gizmo Overdrive does not come with a keyring, it does have a necklace-length detachable lanyard. The shiny, black-plastic drive has a small red light that flashes when the drive is in use and a cap that's not attached (and therefore is likely to be lost).
The Gizmo Overdrive comes with StompSoft's Portable Vault encryption application preinstalled. Upon running the Windows-only Portable Vault executable off the drive for the first time, users must set up their own password-protected "vault" and password hint. Once a password is set, dragging files or folders to the Portable Vault window initiates the encryption process, which is fast for small text documents but can take significant time and processor resources for larger ZIP archives or multimedia files. Users can customize access to documents on the Gizmo Overdrive by creating multiple vaults with different passwords.
The Gizmo Overdrive is supported by most recent versions of Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems. Crucial claims the USB 2.0 Gizmo Overdrive has a write speed of 13MB per second, though our unscientific test (we averaged the time it took to copy 886.15MB of text documents, spreadsheets, music, and movies to the key three times) showed a still sprightly actual write speed of 10.8MB per second.
As of August 2006, the Gizmo Overdrive comes in capacities of only 512MB and 1GB. Our 1GB model sells for about $53, or just 5 cents per megabyte. Though that sounds inexpensive, other higher-capacity USB flash drives, such as the 4GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro, can be found online for as little as 2.5 cents per megabyte. If you need a fast USB flash drive, don't need high capacity or a keyring, and have a bit of extra cash to spend, consider the Crucial Gizmo Overdrive.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2out of 2 user reviews
No Write Protect Switch
Pros: good price for crucial
Cons: no write-protect switch
out of 2 user reviews
Worth the money
Pros: Pre-installed Digital Vault software
Cons: Not very fancy compared to other USB drives
