I have been a Cruzer user for the past 3 years and, yes, I like and use U3 software. I own a 4 Gb Cruzer and decided to buy the 16 Gb to get some additional space.
Even if you use U3, or like the Cruzer, the 16 Gb version is not a great buy. It works perfect and comes with additional U3 software, but it is terribly slow.
I was appalled at the slow speed of the new drive, so I made three experiments to compare it rigorously with my former 4 Gb drive:
(1) Copying a 291 Mb RAR file from the hard-drive to the Cruzer
(2) Copying a combination of 8 main folders (with multiple sub-folders and files in them) totaling 307 Mb from the hard-drive to the Cruzer
(3) Deleting both the RAR file and the 8 folder structure from the Cruzer drive.
Here are the results:
Cruzer 4 Gb: RAR - 37 s, Folders - 1:02, Delete - 13 s
Cruzer 16 Gb: RAR - 1:06 min, Folders - 1:57 min, Delete - 27 s
So.. basically twice as slow as the 4 Gb drive, which is a pain when using the drive daily. It is up to you. All I can say is that I am currently back to using the 4 Gb Cruzer and using the 16 Gb as backup. SanDisk Cruzer 16 GB Cruzer USB 2.0 Flash Drive SDCZ36-016G-A11
I have had this device for over a month now and I have filled it over 65% already and have had no issues with speed or compatability. Worked on all platforms. I did remove the U3 SW as I prefer to use Portable Apps. I will break down the review as such:
Compatibility: I have used it on Win XP, Win Vista, Mac OS X and Windows 2000. No issues at all.
Speed: I copied 8 GB worth of data on the very first day. With write speeds around 15+ MB/s - it performed as expected. Its not the fastest but it is adequate for 99% of users.
Durability: Well, I didn't think I could say much about this except that it has worked fine daily for the last month or so. I will add that this little device did survive a full wash and dry cycle and still is chugging along. I think that speaks volumes about its durability. I know its a SSD so it should be expected to survive such things - but you don't believe it until you see/experience it.
Asthetics: It is very compact. It has an orange light that flashes when it is in action. The USB connector retracts. Simple, nothing fancy though it does have a nice look to it - what more can you ask for?
Price: This is certainly not the cheapest 16GB drive out there but with the SanDisk name behind it, it certainly is a value buy. Another plus.
I would highly recommend this product to anyone who is looking for a fast, widely compatible, durable and value USB drive that has enough space for anything you would want to put on it.
So in short- Buy It!
This product works great as a storage device for the Xbox 360. It meets all of the requirements for the 360 and performs perfectly! I have half of it set aside for my Xbox and use the other half for personal files and my PS3 save data backups as well!
There are only a couple of drawbacks. The first is the very tiny spot on the back for attaching a keychain (actually, I couldn't get a keychain to fit and instead put a cell phone lanyard with a keychain on the end on it). The second drawback is that when you have the device plugged into something there is a very bright, annoying pulsing light that emanates from the top. This can be very distracting when trying to watch Netflix movies from your Xbox.
16 gig, slide out type is great, no cap to lose. But it came with a "special" U3 program on it that I had to research on google to remove. It was not hard. A remover program was on the drive. But it took me an hour to figure all this hout.
Then it took me more time to figure out how to format this drive for NTFS since this is the best way to store files larger than 4g (like video files.) A youtube vid and google showed me how. Typical of windows this is not straightforward -- it takes a bit of looking to find the right piece of Windows that can format this drive (on XP). My regular way with Disk Management did not work.
Did not come with a cord or ring that would allow you to attach it to something.
Worked fine, I stored a 13 gig file. Did not try it on a Mac.
Got this flash drive to add some more space to my 20 GB XBox 360. Works great and I moved some downloadable content and even installed games from the actual disk just like the hard drive install. Helped with Mass Effect 2 since it uses 2 disks and I almost never play games off the disk anymore.
I purchased this Cruzer, having owned both a Cruzer Titanium and a Cruzer Micro. The Titanium and Micro are a bit more expensive (a difference of several dollars), but in my opinion they're worth the premium. Both the Cruzer Titanium and the Cruzer Micro are faster than this one. The Titanium is maybe twice as fast, while the Micro has a smaller speed advantage. In any case, Windows seems to agree: when you insert a USB drive into a computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7, it automatically does a test to determine whether the drive is fast enough for the ReadyBoost feature. Windows 7 determined that while the Titanium and the Micro were fast enough but this Cruzer was not.
The build quality on the Micro and especially the Titanium are definitely superior. The plastic on the Micro and the "liquid metal" finish on the Titanium are of a visibly higher quality. This Cruzer looks and feels cheap by comparison. The sliding mechanism on mine also failed less than a week into use, so that it's now quite difficult to extend the USB connector out of the retracted position. The Micro and Titanium have been fine after months, even years of use.
In terms of functionality, they're all the same, and they all come with U3 which can be removed.
Finally, though I did not factor this into the rating (since it's well outside what the manufacturer designed them for), I ended up leaving a Cruzer and a Cruzer Micro in the pocket of a pair of pants that ended up in the washer. I got them out before there was too much soaking, but they were both wet when I took them out. The cheap Cruzer worked right away but the Cruzer Micro did not. Several hours later, though, this had reversed: the cheap Cruzer no longer worked but the Cruzer Micro worked fine, and they have stayed that way. Might not mean anything, or might be some indication of relative quality.
Anyway, the bottom line is that you get what you pay for. I suggest that anyone looking at this drive consider paying a few dollars more for a Micro or Titanium.'
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