Micro flair! (Verbatim 47377 8GB Micro Flash Drive)

Member Name: sirg0508

Product:	Verbatim 47377 8GB Micro Flash Drive
Date:	14/09/09 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick and easy to drag and drop files

Disadvantages: Additional costs to upgrade for more features, software causes problems

(Parts of this review also on Amazon)

I find flash drives an invaluable piece of my computing needs which the Verbatim 47377 8GB Micro Flash Drive is more than happily homed along with my growing collection of previous purchases. Technology has come a long way from my bulky 256mb Integral drive which caused me nothing but problems being so bulky I couldn't use 2 USB ports at the same time to micro flash drives which are small and thin.

The difference with the micro flash drive is they are not protected within the traditional rectangle casing but just slot into the USB drive. I'd previously bought a PNY Micro Attache 1GB drive so I knew the contacts on the back of the drive had to be facing up on my laptop. Although my PNY had a hole for a lanyard, Verbatim actually supply one which is a plus but even with nimble fingers is still a challenge to attach.

This drive is easily found in My Computer as STORE N GO. The Carry It Easy software provided on the drive always causes me problems on Vista - if I double click on it, I have to wait 30-40 seconds while it stops responding to finally open or keep opening/closing it before it will work. Unfortunately I do occasionally need to use Carry It Easy as that shows how much space is being used and offers 128 bit AES password protection. I can however happily use the drive without checking the software as there is plenty of space so I know it will take a while to fill and rarely do I want password protection.

Although the software has the file synchronisation showing it only moves the folders to the drive from the computer without everything that's in it so the only way to use it without the upgrade is to drag and drop files into the drive folder. This is easy though and even with large files it does it quickly - 10MB (45 photos) takes 5 seconds on my laptop. One thing I do always have to watch is the laptop telling me it's safe to remove the drive as unlike other flash drives there are no flashing lights on the device itself and could cause problems if removing it too soon.

The additional functions include Lost & Found where the finder can contact me if I lose it, Desktop, Folder to Folder and My Documents synchronisation, IE/FF bookmark and Outlook Express synchronization and surfing the net without leaving a trace. Although you can expect to pay £14-£20 for this drive, you can't use the additional features unless upgrading which costs an additional Euro9.99-Euro24.95 (depending if there is an offer on). There are various payment methods including Paypal which does help and they also offer a free trial of these services for 30 days but I've not had the need for any of these and it does make the drive quite expensive.

Overall, I am very happy with this Verbatim drive. Being purple does add a little flair but really no affect on performance so colour wasn't important. The 8GB drive provides me with more than enough space for my needs in a very portable device and The Carry It Easy software although has its problems for me is not essential so I can still happily make use of the drive. The additional functions are not necessary for me to want to pay an extra sum of money to use.

Summary: Very portable flash drive