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  PQI Portable Storage Drives

  Punit Lodaya, Feb 15, 2007 1537 hrs IST

  Today, we take a look at some of portable storage drives from PQI.

  

Page 1 - PQI U330 1GB Thumbdrive Page 2 - PQI U350 1GB Thumbdrive Page 3 - PQI Pro 220 Thumbdrive Page 4 - PQI U510 Pro 1GB Card Drive

PQI Pro 220 1GB

This portable storage resembles a lot to Sony memory sticks. The blue color makes it even more similar. The picture can do more talking. This was the only drive which claims to be Vista Ready Boost complaint.
However, having such a slim design questions the durability of the drive. Hence PQI has also bundled along a plastic cover for it to act as protector against pressure. This will keep the drive intact and not break into two. Let's check the specifications.

Specifications
Interface: USB1.1/2.0
Capacity: 512MB~4GB
OS Supported: Windows ME/2000/XP, Mac 10.1 or above
Power Supply: DC 3.3/5V " 10%
Power Consumption: Operating <100mA,Suspend<0.5mA
Dimensions: 43 x 18 x 2.8 mm (1.69 x 0.71 x 0.11 in)
Weight: 2.7 g (0.01 lb)

Benchmark

SiSoft Sandra 2007

Performance
We transferred our standard test folder, which contains hundreds of smaller files to and from the drive, after which we transferred a single large file in both directions. Following are the results:

Single File Read (700 MB)
Time Taken: 26 Seconds
Speed: 26.92 MBps

Single File Write (700 MB)
Time Taken: 44 Seconds
Speed: 15.90 MBps

Multiple File Read (584 MB/173 Files/8 Folders)
Time Taken: 33 Seconds
Speed: 17.6 MBps

Multiple File Write (584 MB/173 Files/8 Folders)
Time Taken: 48 Seconds
Speed: 12.1 MBps

As you see, this drive has the fastest write speeds and read speeds till date.

Conclusion
The smallest looking drive is also the fastest drive we tested from the bunch. This drive sells for Rs. 1150 (and not Rs. 560 as we were accidentally quoted earlier). The drive is a bit pricey but is an excellent performer and is recommended for anyone looking forward to a super-fast and super-slim flash drive.

Page 1 - PQI U330 1GB Thumbdrive Page 2 - PQI U350 1GB Thumbdrive Page 3 - PQI Pro 220 Thumbdrive Page 4 - PQI U510 Pro 1GB Card Drive

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