It's quite small, but really slow.
On sequential write, the speed slowly goes up from 55k/s to 4.8M/s over the course of 1GB.
On small files, the write speed is even worse, it stays below 3M/s all the time.
This is incredibly slow for a modern usb stick.
Read is fine at about 20 M/s. SanDisk Cruzer Blade 16GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive
I had a SanDisk Cruzer Gator, SanDisk SDCZP-8192-A11BL 8GB Cruzer Gator (Black), which may have been the smallest SanDisk Flash Drive at the time. Unfortunately it only lasted 2 out of the 3 years of law school. I am careful but things (including my young boys) happen and even after some super-glue, the Cruzer Gator was no match for things (including my young boys). It now only works if I tweak it to one side and hold it there. It turns off the second I let go of it. Enter the SanDisk Blade. It has 16gb, is cheaper than my 8gb Gator, and is very sturdy. Unlike the Blade, the Gator's connector could move independent of its outer sleeve right out of the box. The connector on the Gator passed through a plastic sleeve and had a metal jacket around it. The connector on the Blade, on the other hand, integrates into the outer sleeve. As you can see in the picture the connector flows right into the sleeve making the Blade much stronger than the Gator. Overall, I am impressed with the size, capacity/price ratio, and sturdy design of the SanDisk Blade, and highly recommend it.
I just wanted to quickly say that this device has a cool design. It appears to be two very solid pieces of plastic, lacking the typical metal part that you'd insert into the USB port. As a result, it's very light. I like the colors. I do wish that it had some kind of LED light indicator, but not a big deal.
I DO recommend to people who use this to reformat it prior to use. I tried to use this in my car, and it was unrecognized, despite being FAT32. I reformatted the entire disk to FAT32, and then it worked without a problem.
Be warned that this device is so small and light, that you definitely run the risk of losing it in your bag or pockets. I highly recommend attaching something to the lanyard slot.
I purchased this drive because I wanted something small enough to fit on my key chain and carry around with me every day.
I have been very disappointed. Write speeds are terrible compared to my other drives (including other small drives), takes nearly 10 minutes to load a 1 GB file (issue was experienced across multiple PCs and Macs, so not a limitation of the computer I was using).
On top of the slowness, the key chain hole broke after less than a month.
Not impressed, only reason to consider this is if you want something very small, and even then it would be better to keep looking.
I've had mine for years now, not purchased through Amazon but I thought I'd give my two bits here after reading some of the reviews (please read my other reviews on some other flash drives to get somewhat of an idea if you're curious).
Here's, boiled down to a very generic level, what you really need in one of these things;
Store and transfer your stuff
Remain dependable
ANY of these drives could stop working at the drop of a hat, that's just the world we live in. Buyer beware on absolutely everything, all the time. Maybe in the 50's it was different, but we ain't in the 50's no more.
So bottom line here, this drive is small, tough and slow. I have done nothing but use this thing almost every day for music and movies at home and in cars. I have not babied it in anyway and it rattles around in my front pocket with change and whatever else might be in there. It's been dropped God knows how many times, through the wash a few times and left out in the sun to dry off after finding it in my shorts getting out of a pool. I think I've just explained my experiences about its toughness and durability.
It has no problem playing HD movies or FLAC files in real time, so say what you will about how slow download times are, and they are, but it's never had a problem keeping up reading those files. EVER.
So if you can find something to do while your info is loading on to the drive, maybe read and finish a Stephen King novel, re-enact the Civil War or build a mini Vatican City out of popsicle sticks, then hopefully you'll have the same luck I have with this thing. There really isn't a smaller device (HP v165w, but that thing heats up big time and HAS trouble with HD movies) for the capacity and the price. Seriously.
This is a very small flash drive:
1 5/8 inches long x 11/16 inches wide x 5/16 inches high
This small size allows these drives to be placed side by side, even when the USB ports are very close together. The small size also means that it is just that much easier to lose (or be stolen). At the back of it there is a hole that will allow you to connect it to a string or a strap.
A big drawback for me is the absence of an LED. Without this LED, you will not be sure when it is active, You will get no direct feedback from this Flash drive.
The manufacturer has deliberately omitted the read and write speeds of this drive. That is because they know that it can be a slow poke at times.
In making your purchasing decision, these are the key issues:
- Price (not the cheapest)
- Size (the smallest, but no LED)
- Speed (pretty slow)
I bought this because it was an excellent value for the storage space. And I thought the size was sort of a cool, low profile. But that proved to be a problem when I gave it to somebody, they put it in their shirt pocket and it was so low profile they forgot it was there. A couple of days later they realized they had lost it and couldn't find it anywhere. Here's the part that makes me give it 4-stars instead of 3. They put it through the washer and dryer before they found it and it still works. I've been using it for months since then with no problems in the functionality or construction. - Flash Drive - Usb Flash Drive - Cruzer - Sandisk'
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