LaCie IamaKey (8GB)
Starting at: $21.97
CNET Editors' Review
CNET Editors' Rating
- Reviewed by: Dan Ackerman
- Released on:
- Reviewed on:
The good: Sturdy construction; slim; key ring attachment won't break.
The bad: Plastic cap can get lost easily.
The bottom line: LaCie's IamaKey USB flash drive is slim, sturdy, and, most importantly, will stay on your key ring.
For a device often called a USB "key," the tiny flash drives people carry around with them are generally not well-suited to being attached to a key ring. Most have plastic bodies, and in our experience, the plastic key ring loops inevitably break after a few weeks or months.
LaCie's IamaKey USB flash drive offers a potential solution with a new drive that is, amusingly, shaped like a key. More importantly, the entire device is made of metal, including the key ring connector at the top end.
As chronicled in this blog post, our main purpose for attaching a ... Expand full review
For a device often called a USB "key," the tiny flash drives people carry around with them are generally not well-suited to being attached to a key ring. Most have plastic bodies, and in our experience, the plastic key ring loops inevitably break after a few weeks or months.
LaCie's IamaKey USB flash drive offers a potential solution with a new drive that is, amusingly, shaped like a key. More importantly, the entire device is made of metal, including the key ring connector at the top end.
As chronicled in this blog post, our main purpose for attaching a USB drive to a keychain is to have handy access to files. Testing several new laptops every week, key drives are useful for storing and transferring all the install files for software apps that should be on a new laptop, but aren't (such as Firefox, AVG Free, and Open Office).
Hide ReviewCompare to other usb flash drives
Compare selected
New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and Men's Journal. He hosts the weekly CNET Labscast show (Mondays at 2pm ET) and his most recent album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now.
User Reviews
See all user reviewsRating Breakdown
Most Helpful User Review
stars 4 of 4 users found this review helpful
"never buy! dies after few months" By bullhead242
Pros loved the metal casing and the form factor. most importantly, it could stay with my keys and never fall off, have the key-ring-connector break, etc.
Cons everything else. slow, and dies without warning.
Summary lost the cap pretty much immediately, not a big deal. the data transfer speeds are quite slow, almost down to USB 1.1 levels. most importantly, they die without warning, and without cause.
I owned one of these drives, and used it at work fairly regularly, but i wouldn't ... Expand full review
Most Recent User Reviews (Showing 2 of 14 reviews)
Specifications
See full specsQuick Specs
- Memory storage capacity: 8 GB
