Memorex M-Flyer USB TravelDrive (512MB)

One of a geek's most useful possessions is a portable USB thumb drive. We usually throw thing in our pockets, purses, briefcases, or even hang them on our keychains. They make is really easy to transport documents and other small files from one place to the other, like from work to home. Many thumb drives these days come with data encryption software to encrypt your data with a password that you choose. We took a look at Memorex's newest USB thumb drive and here is what we thought...

First of all, USB thumb drives need to be really tough to be able to handle what they are put though, like throwing them on a table or dropped them. Usually these thumb drives have a really hard plastic or metal casing to protect them. However, Memorex's M-Flyer aluminum case is pretty flimsy and cheap looking. It won't provide much protection against bumps and drops, but it will make it through a normal day's wear and tear without any problems.

The whole drive is just over 3 inches long and can hold 512MB of data, but it also comes in 1 and 2GB capacities. The M-Flyer does feel and look as though it is longer and bulkier than the usual USB thumb drive, but it really isn't. We liked that you can retract the USB connector into the device's body by pushing a little button. The thumb drive also comes with a USB extension cable that is kind of short, but not terribly short.

Memorex includes a few different small programs with the TravelDrive. The drive's security software allows you to designate one part of the whole drive as a password-protected and encrypted area. It also comes with a file compression utility similar to WinZip for the computer. We liked that the drive can work with Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems.

Lastly, the M-Flyer TravelDrive performed very nicely. When transferring a 500MB file, it took about 2 mins and 50 seconds to transfer it from the computer to the thumb drive and it took about a minute and a half to delete that same file.

Overall, we think this thumb drive is an excellent performer with some cool features. We recommend this drive for the average person who wants to bring home files from work or school and vise-versa. With that said, this isn't the drive for the hardcore geek who will be using this drive several times a day with some abuse in between. For that type of person and usage, we recommend the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium thumb drive.

Pros: Software Included that password-protects your data, works with all operating systems, good data transfer speed
Cons: Case is a little flimsy
Editors' Rating: