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PNY Attaché 2 GB
by davidbuttery
** Introduction **
As with camera memory cards, I tend to build up a collection of USB memory sticks that, in truth, is excessive and could do with some rationalisation. However, being the disorganised person I am, I tend to leave data on sticks willy-nilly unless it's actually important, and so I often find it easier to buy a ... new one than actually to cut down! I've had this particular PNY Attaché stick for about three years now, and I think it was the first 2 GB stick I ever bought.
** Looks **
This is a fairly compact stick, albeit not as tiny as some of the more recent models. Personally I welcome that, as I often think modern components have become rather too small and fiddly for their own good. It's largely a neutral light grey, but an unusual feature is the orange transparent plastic accenting. Yes, orange. I don't know_why_ that colour was chosen, and I'm not entirely sure it works that well, but you won't mistake it for anything else!
I don't know whether this was standard issue, but my stick was bundled with a PNY-branded black fabric lanyard. This is slightly thinner than some, which means that it's not quite as comfortable as it might be, but given the lightness of the stick itself it probably won't bother you too much. The connector between the lanyard and the stick is rather annoyingly bulky, though, and it's also a bit of a pain to get the stick off it; you really have to force the metal sections apart.
** In use **
This stick did not come with any software installed. No help files, no bundled clip art, no "useful" security software, nothing. This might be a drawback to some, but to me it was a major plus point. One of the first things I do when I get a stick that does have those extra bits and pieces is to reformat it to give myself all the space to use, not just the portion the vendor provides by default! On that note, I've had no problems in formatting the stick (with the free GParted application).
As you would expect, the PNY Attaché is a USB 2.0 product, which means that it's reasonably fast in use. 2 GB being a relatively small capacity (how I'd have boggled at that phrase even ten years ago!) there's no real waiting to be done unless you're transferring absolutely enormous files, and even then the delay is well within the bounds of the acceptable. When the drive is in use, you get a rather nifty orange light which matches the orange plastic.
** Buying and verdict **
Back in 2008 a 2 GB memory stick was still seen as fairly substantial, and the price matched that: I believe I paid in the region of £15 for mine - not all that expensive even then. Nowadays two-gig sticks are almost considered obsolete, and a browse of eBay turned up the odd example for around the £8 mark. For some reason, though, they do seem to be quite scarce second-hand; it's not for any lack of durability, as like most USB drives the Attaché is very robust. Three stars, as it's an unexciting but solid product.
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PNY Attaché 8 GB
by delasandro
USB flash drives are now extremely popular and nearly every household will have atleast one of these now. They are used to store data ranging from photo's to videos to documents.. practically everything that a hard drive on your pc or laptop stores a USB flash drive can but in smaller quantities.
The advantage of flash drives ... over things like CD's etc is that they can hold alot more data, and are also very easy to carry around. They also seem to be safer and have less chance of losing data as unlike CD's etc they can't be scratched. Also, USB flash drives will fit into literally every computer/laptop for the last 10-15 years with as they all now have USB drives, so if you had a small netbook you could still use one of these but you couldn't use a CD as they don't have CD drives!
This PNY USB flash drive cost me roughly £10 from what i can remember, it was 2 years ago. The pakcaging is a simple plastic box wich you cut to open and thats it really, nothing else.
The design of the product is what is most intriguing about it. There were many other 8GB flash drives right around this one on the shelves, but there was one reason why I chose this over the rest: It was different to the plain old boring ones which you just pulled a lid off. This one has a spin mechanism where you pull it down then twist it 360 degrees to use. This is great as it means you'll never lose the lid and it will always remain safe in that regard. It is also very cool and is quite fun in your hand when your just sitting there reading something on the web and twisting it around. At first it actually took me a while to figure out how to open it as i thought it just need to spin it but it wasn't moving! I didn't realise you had to pull it down then spin it, and when your finished spin it back into position and then push it up.
There is 2 medium size square holes at the top of the stick which is for attaching it to a neck string or to your keyring. My dad has one of these and uses it on his key ring so he never forgets to take it with him as he never forgets his keys!
The version I have is 8GB. It is enough for what i need it for which is for documents and essays. In fact for that alone it is way more than enough and really a 2GB one would suffice. However, i got this as i thought I may as well just get it and use it for my stuff but in the future if i need to use it for video's etc then atleast i have one at home. This came true pretty quickly as at the time i bought this i was using an older laptop and since then i have had 3 different laptops so this became extremely useful in transfering things over like music files and software programmes.
This PNY usb flash drive is very simple to use like every other flash drive out there: simply plug it into your pc or laptop and wait a few seconds for a message to pop up allwoing you to view the folders on the drive. On some pc's or laptop you may have to go into 'My Computer' and click on the flash drive for it to open up so just be aware of that if your not a computer savvie!
This product is very durable. Various reviews suggest that this can be dropped into water and still work. I haven't tried this myself but it has happened to a different flash drive as i accidently left it in my trouser pocket which went into the washing machine..! That did actually work after so if people suggest that this usb drive is water proof then i do believe them as i have experienced it with a cheaper flash drive. There is also no fear of the twist mechanism of breaking as it just doesn't seem the type to do so unles you actually pull the to ends apart really hard!
All in all pefect usb flash drive. 8GB is more than enough for most simple things and it is a very durable and solid product. The colour doesn't exactly stand out from the rest as it is just plain black but the mechanism of opening, spinning and using the usb drive is different from the rest and that's why I bought this over any of the other ones available. The price is also good at around £10 as this is the price roughly for other 8GB ones anyway so this is definately worth it!
10/10
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