What is this?
Kingston's DiskOnkey 500-powered USB flash drive may not win any beauty contest, but it offers: on-board ARM7 processor for handling 128-bit AES encryption; bookmark/file synchronization software; impressive 24MB/s read & 14MB/s write speeds; and five-year warranty. Had it come with anti-keystroke recorder utility, that would be king of flash drive.
Kingston Data Traveler Elite 1GB ReviewFebruary 18th, 2005
Pros: Hardware encryption engine; decent speed; five-year warranty.
Cons: Processing power without more applications; lacks extension cable or dock.
Verdict: Kingston DataTraveler Elite security measures and data reliability level are what make this flash drive shines.
USB flash drives are quickly becoming a commodity, and manufacturers are doing any means necessary to distinguish their products from the competitions. Kingston, in this case, has chosen M-Systems' DiskOnKey 500 to boost flash drive security, synchronization features and data durability for its new Data Traveler Elite.
Kingston Data Traveler Elite is also available in 256MB, 512MB and 2GB.
Style & Size The Data Traveler Elite, measuring at 3.1" by 0.9" x 0.4", doesn't get any smaller than its two-year old predecessor, which is also a DiskOnKey only with ASIC T4. The Hi-Speed USB flash drive is encased in sliver plastic that lags behind others in respect of design innovations. The Data Traveler Elite comes with one cap, which is unfortunately irreplaceable. The loophole is located on the other end of the flash drive so you can hook up the bundled neck strap. On the other side is a LED that flashes red when interfacing with an original USB port and that blinks blue when transferring data from a Hi-Speed USB PC.
128-bit AES Vault The Data Traveler Elite may not win any beauty contests but it makes up with a bigger brain than the flash drives powered by a 8-bit controller. Thanks to its 32-bit ARM7 processor, the Elite can handle encryption and decryption process inside the drive without performance loss and fear of tampering from outside.
To take advantage of this, you must use Kingston's TravelerSafe+, which can convert up to 99% of the Elite to a 128-bit AES encrypted partition. Other security programs won't do, as they aren't developed using DiskOnKey SDK. During each login, you have an option to 'trust' a PC so login via password will become unnecessary. One caveat is that only either public or private partition is accessible at any given time. And as an important note, adjusting encrypted space will result in drive formatting, erasing all data in both public and private area, but Kingston gives out plenty of warning during the process.
Travel with Your Favorites, Documents MyTraveler is another program that sits alongside the security program. Essentially, it offers a control panel for synchronizing your precious data. In default mode, you can synchronize Windows' My Documents, Internet Explorer favorites and one more folder, including its sub-folder(s). Additional features include a software write-protection and auto-run, the latter of which require you to edit your own autorun.inf. For added protection, if you put MyTraveler in the secure partition, all files are automatically encrypted as well. The same goes for portable FireFox and Sunbird.
The Data Traveler Elite's tutorial in PDF covers pretty much all aspects except it does not emphasize enough that both programs require admin privilege in Windows 2000/XP. Alternatively, you can try non-admin service for Windows 2000/XP, available on Kingston's download section, to grant non-administrator access to TravelerSafe+ and MyTraveler.
Performance Benchmarks obtained via Sandra 2005 are behind that of Kingston's rated specifications (24MB/s read, 14MB/s write). 64MB file tests reveal the write speed was rated 9830KB/s and read speed was 19661KB/s. During small 32KB file tests, the Data Traveler Elite finished 9251KB/s read and 3002KB/s write. These are decent scores, especially the endurance factor at 21.9, which is way above most competitions.
Benchmark Data
Benchmark Results
Combined Index : 8715 operation(s)/min
Endurance Factor : 21.9
512B Files Test : 10944 operation(s)/min
32kB Files Test : 10275 operation(s)/min
256kB Files Test : 3107 operation(s)/min
2MB Files Test : 465 operation(s)/min
64MB Files Test : 15 operation(s)/min
Performance Test Status
Run ID : YOUR-EF77GZTJ0E on Friday, 18 February, 2005 at 12:30:02
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : No
Drive
Total Size : 1002MB
Free Space : 1001MB, 100%
Cluster Size : 16kB
Where to buy Kingston Data Traveler Elite 1GB?
User Review(s)
"Words of Caution for Data Traveler Elite" I have used the Kingston Data Traveler Elite now for approximately 2 months. While I looked forward to the security features and the large disk spacea available, (not to mention Kinston's brand name associated with known quality) I was unpleasantly surprised that my new flash key drive disconnects my Linksys wireless network adaptor. It seems that the amount of power used by the Data Traveler is enough to cause a sudden surge on the USB bus causing any USB port on the same bus as the key drive to suddenly lose connection upon insertion of the key drive. So much of a surge that it also didnt allow any other device that I plugged into the same USB bus to operate properly once installed.
Apart from the frustration involved in getting the key drive to properly work, I was also unimpressed with the sync functionality of the software. In my opinion, it was watered down and could have been much more user friendly. Being able to sync only one additional folder besides the default ones really isnt all that great of a feature. Instead, I decided to bypass the supplied sync software and use a 3rd party sync software all together, which gave me much more freedom of customization. I was really disappointed in the lack of customization of the sync utility. While I am sure it is a feature some people will use, (such as moving My Documents and the Favorites folders) these could also be done with other 3rd party software, easier, cleaner, and much more reliably.
Another interesting thing that I wasnt aware of till much later in the future (due to poor documentation and instructions) is that the little light on the stick itself is a USB indicator, turning blue for USB 2.0 and red for USB 1.1. While this may be an interesting thing for some of us, I would have found it much more useful to have the light indicate data being written and retrieved by the device instead of the constant throbbing (which seemed at this point to coincide with the throbbing of my head this device was causing)
Over all, I have to say that if someone asked me to recommend this product, I would have to decline doing so. I have purchased other USB key drives with less stress.
In my overall opinion, this is a poor product. From Lazarus, April 19, 2005
We're currently upgrading our user review system; so we won't be accepting new reviews for now. Data Traveler Elite 1GB Specs
Extras Lost a USB cable? Get a replacement USB cable.
Running out of USB ports? Get an extra USB hub.
You may need a new USB card to achieve Hi-Speed USB speeds.
Confirm with our USB 2.0 FAQ if you have Hi-Speed USB on your PC.
MyTraveler is another program that sits alongside the security program. Essentially, it offers a control panel for synchronizing your precious data. In default mode, you can synchronize Windows' My Documents, Internet Explorer favorites and one more folder, including its sub-folder(s). Additional features include a software write-protection and auto-run, the latter of which require you to edit your own autorun.inf. For added protection, if you put MyTraveler in the secure partition, all files are automatically encrypted as well. The same goes for portable FireFox and Sunbird.
