Customer Reviews

Kingston 8GB USB 2.0 Hi-Speed DataTraveler 110 (Green) (DT110G/8GB)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is probably my fourth or fifth flash drive. I am bad about losing them and especially losing the small plastic caps that some drives provide to cover the metal part that inserts into the USB port. So I was drawn towards this model, where the metal part actually retracts into the body of the flash drive, obviating the need for a plastic cap.

My hesitation was that I had bought a similar kind of flash drive from a competitor (can not recall specifically which) and the retractable part eventually got stuck. The metal body of that flash drive was prone to getting slightly deformed after use (carrying it around in pockets, etc.) and the deformation left it not in square anymore causing the retractable part to stick in the retracted or extended position. This necessitated prying it out with some sharp instrument and leaving it extended - defeating the whole purpose of the design.

After several months of using the Kingston product, I am happy to report that this has not been a problem. The solid plastic housing of the Kingston has maintained its shape through several airports and hotels and frequent at-home use. As a result, the retraction mechanism is working flawlessly to date. I have also found the data transfer rates to be fast and it was not overloaded with lots of extraneous junk programs and "sample" software out of the box. The 8gb space is handy because I can carry my entire documents folders back and forth between home and work as kind of an additional backup.

In short, this has been a solid and reliable performer thus far and will serve me well until I inevitably lose it (the ones that come with a lanyard attached so you can wear it around your neck do me no good either...I have lost those too and hate wearing it around because of the dorkishness of it) and have to buy another one.

Drive is light like previous reviewer stated but constructed well... nothing loose or shaking.
Another plus (a huge one): It showed about 4K memory used but unused space still showed 8GB... no annoying pre-loads taking up space.
The other reviews give credit to the slide mechanism but I will give more detail... you press down so that it can slide forward and it clicks/locks into place and cannot slide back unless you press down with your finger and drag it back. Very secure and when you use it you will realize that it will not fail you.
Speed is a little slower than my old Sony MicroVault but it is adequate and for the $36 spent it is the best value out there overall in terms of size and speed. It did not have password protect so I downloaded the free program (truecrypt) despite very few negative reviews which concerned me but I have been very happy so far and it protects like my Sony and possibly has stronger encryption.
I give it 4 stars ONLY because it is thick and I had to force a very slim usb mouse connector or my very slim Sony drive next to it. The mouse connector and Sony drives do not touch when they are next to each other but when either are used with the 8GB drive it is a very tight fit.
You will not be disappointed.

The Kingston 8GB USB 2.0 Hi-Speed DataTraveler 110 (Green) (DT110G/8GB) is definitely affordable, durable and effective. Unfortunately, it's also much larger than it needs to be and among the slowest drives in the Kingston USB family. If you need a durable thumb drive at a great price, this is it. If you need optimum performance, look elsewhere.

The Kingston DT100/8GB Data Traveler 100 8 GB Drive is sleeker and comes close to the performance and features of the Sandisk Cruzer. The DT110 isn't as good ad that one but it's still a slight step up from the Kingston 8GB DataTraveler USB flash drive. This is definitely an improvement over the standard design for the Data Traveler.

8 GB capacity is very useful for large file backups or USB storage and transfer. And at current prices, it's almost a no brainer despite the cons. Overall this is a good product.

Transfer speeds are still slower than what you would like but acceptable for transfers or on-the-spot backup copies. The case is also somewhat bulky and makes it hard to plug it in next to other devices or on laptops that have recessed USB ports or those locate right next to the power jack. The retractable head still works though, and the case does seem more durable than the standard body design. I'm not crazy about the stubby body but at least the end doesn't break as easily as the DT.

The best way to enable encryption may still be to use another tool to encrypt the drive after re-formatting it. This way you can test the drive as well as use the encryption you prefer.

Now if you need a smaller sleeker body and better performance, look to the SanDisk 8 GB Cruzer Micro. It also has a retractable USB connector but a smaller hole for attaching a lanyard. The body is much smaller, about half the size. Kingston still competes well on price, but the Sandisk outperforms it.


Pros:
+ Kingston brand is perhaps under-rated, almost as good as Sandisk
+ Retractable USB head is convenient - No caps!!!
+ Nice capacity of 8 GB has you future proofed as smaller USB drives start to disappear
+ Durable body and NAND memory stands up to a lot of abuse
+ Compatible with old and new Mac and PC Operating Systems (XP, Vista, OS X)
+ Very light case
+ Rear hole to connect a lanyard or keychain
+ USB 2.0 connection is backwards compatible for older computers
+ Very quickly mounts and stops
+ Less scum-ware and needless apps than some other drives
+ Easy to format and enable encryption to protect your data

Cons:
- Speed could be better, though it's acceptable
- Doesn't have the good looks of some drives like the Sandisk Cruzer Micro
- Still somewhat slow speed in copying large files, limited by USB transfer rate
- Drive is still larger than it has to be
- Bulky size makes plugging into tighter USB slots difficult

Conclusion

The retractable head and decent price are attractive. On a price per gigabyte, the Kingston 4GB USB 2.0 Hi-Speed DataTraveler 110 (Red) (DT110R/4GB) often offers a better price but with less capacity and future flexibility of the 8 GB model. If you need the smallest drive available and better performance, go with the Sandisk Cruzer Micro.

Enjoy!

Electrically this thing worked fine. Fast enough and reliable, for the time I used it.

The case was the big let down, the catch on the retracting mechanism wasn't string enough to resist the insertion force of the USB connector, so I had to hold the gray slider with my thumb whilst plugging it in. Very awkward. As others have said, it's kind of chunky, this doesn't make a significant difference in your pocket, but can make it difficult to jam in to a USB slot when the one next door is already occupied.

The killer for me was the weak attachment at the tail end, I attached it by a thin ring to my house keys, the plastic broke off in my pocket. So now it's a separate random thing to remember rather than being linked to something I can't leave at home.

I replaced it with a Sandisk Titanium which is smaller, neater and stronger. This is my third one, 16Gb now, I guess I'm a size queen?

The main reason I bought this drive instead of others is that it does not have a lid for the USB connector. The mechanism is such that if you push up the button on the side, the USB connector pops out. I found the following problems with my drive (within 3 days of use)

1) The USB port on the my Kingston DataTraveler doesn't connect reliably to any USB port on any computer. There seems to be some loose contact always.

2) The USB connector is supposed to "lock" so that the connector doesn't go into the device (instead of the USB female port on the computer or whatever) when you try to plug in the USB drive. The locking mechanism isn't reliable on mine and at times the connector gets pushed into the memory stick itself instead of the USB female port on my laptop.

3) This USB memory device is a little big. If you have two adjacent USB ports on your computer and this device is plugged into one of them the other USB port on your computer is blocked and rendered unusable.

Stores data ok but you have to keep your finger on the button when inserting into the USB slot, otherwise it pushes the metal back into the drive. Better to use with an extension cable.

PROS: Perfect on every use, a lot of memory space.
CONTRAS: a little bit wide so you can not insert another pen-drive on next USB port.

it has no problem with data, but ...... slow as hell to transfer data. way too expensive for the storage amount. (got 16gb micro sd for 20 (10 less) and sd-USB adapter for 1 dollar) it stored what i need it to store, but the micro sd i have now is much better and more compact. this has gone the way of the technology of its hay-day.

I had ordered one of these maybe a year ago and was very happy with it so I just got another one.
Unfortunately, the new one doesn't stay "locked" when I try to plug it into my laptop. I have to manually hold the switch so it doesn't retract as I'm plugging the Kingston in. I'm really surprised that it didn't work - especially since this puppy ain't exactly cheap. I'll have to consider another product next time - I thought the Kingston flashdrives - especially this particular one - were extremely reliable but this particular lemon proved me wrong.

The memory works great, very fast to handle files.

But the case si awful. It broke a week after I started using it, and sometime when you plug it, it retracs so you have to be very careful.