- HP v165w USB Flash Drive 8 GB

Hewlett Packard is a brand that I trust when it comes to computers and accessories. HP delivers top-quality and reliable solutions and I have always been satisfied with the brand products that I own.
As a student I had to work on programs and use the library computers a lot, so I needed a USB stick with a lot of storage space to save all my files and transfer everything between my laptop and other PCs.

The HP v165w USB Flash Drive comes in three storage sizes: 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB and the available colours are blue, red and purple. My friend owned the 4GB Flash Drive and I was familiar with the product. When I wanted to buy a flash drive with big capacity as a backup solution for the important files in case my computer crashes and risk losing everything, I decided to purchased the blue 8GB USB device from PcWorld. It has a very practical size as it is smaller than usual, it has enough space to store a large amount of data and it's suitable for everyday use. I have been using for my personal and university needs to store documents, presentations, photos, videos, movies etc.

This tiny device has dimensions 12.2 mm x 34.6 mm x 4.5 mm (WxDxH) and it is advertised from the company to be in the size of a paperclip. And it's true, this USB is impressively small and has equally big capacity with other storage devices of larger sizes.

The USB stick is made from thick plastic material and it has a handy lanyard attached to one corner. This makes it easy to clip the USB on to the keys and avoid losing or misplacing it. Because it is so tiny and it's easy to lose, I have attached it to my keys and therefore I carry it with me all the time. However, because it's in my bag mixed with a lot of stuff I have lost the cap since it comes off easily and I am using it a lot. The outer plastic of the device and the cap are semi-transparent so that you can see the metallic silver part through the cover. Finally, the hp logo and the storage capacity are written in the front.

Concerning the technical features, I am very happy with the great performance and the high transfer speed (25 MB/s read - 8 MB/s write). I have been using it for more than one year. It has been reliable since I bought it and it's still working fast in data transferring. I can playback movies directly from the USB with no problems and video pauses. Also, some of my previous flash drives needed to be reformatted if I was using them much but it didn't happen with this one so far.


Disadvantages

-There is no activity light for those who are interested in seeing when the flash drive is working and transferring files.
-It's very easy to lose the cap.


- How to use

The portable device is plugged in to the USB port and the computer recognises the device and automatically reads the data that are stored in the drive.

After use, I always prefer using the "Safely Remove Hardware" function before taking the USB off. If it's not removed properly from the computer there is a possibility to lose data or cause an error to the flash drive performance.


- Price

Amazon.co.uk currently sells the HP v165w USB Flash Drive 8 GB on offer for £7.80
(original price: £10.85)


- Overall

It's a really good buy and an elegant storage solution with a great price. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a super small flash drive to transport and share data.

Thank you for reading!

This review may be posted on other sites in the future.