47 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect and Hard to Beat !!, November 29, 2006
This review is from: SanDisk 2 GB Cruzer Titanium ( SDCZ7-2048-A10, Retail Package) (Personal Computers)
To all looking for a perfect USB drive with Extra features, if you want to and when you want to...
This is the deal... This is my third one, since I keep selling the previous one with less capacity and getting one bigger...
Also, the feel on this one is very sturdy as well... I would say that is a lot better then my previous one, which was the regular black plastic case.
The U3 program, it is a handy (and I shall say MUST) factor.
If you want the program to auto start whenever you plug it in at your USB port (which takes around 5sec.) you just point it out at the installation of the U3 Launchpad, and I bet most of the users having this problem did not try to run and update or at least go to the settings and check this function.
I have most of the programs I use with this USB drive and whenever I travel and need to use any computer, I just plug it in, and have, all my documents and files (as a regular use of a USB drive) and also the advantage of having my own browser with all my favorites and plug-ins (and cookies and passwords functions as it is set at the USB drive, and not at the computer you are using...), and lots of other programs..
There lots of software to anyones interest, Free and paid for... And all of the ones I use are free !! (open office, firefox, skype,etc)
And if you ever decide to have just an ordinary USB Drive with all the space availabe just to store files.. Just Uninstall it.. [...]
But nowadays, who would not want the REAL Upgrade you can get with a USB Drive.. This the perfection...
To me, it is a regular Usb Drive most of the time, just transfering documents... But sometimes, I go ahead and start the U3 Launchpad and start using the programs I need, without worring about leaving trails and information at the computer behind...
And more.. You have all sort of data protection with it, in case it is stolen, lost or someone want to get the date out of it for any purpose....
Think again and you will see that this is the Future of USB drive... Just learn how to use and you will not want to have just a regular one anymore...
U3 is a must ... Once you get used to it...
Take your time, instead of just listening to people who over react to something that is new...
As I mentioned at the beggining.. You decide what you want..
Regular USB or a Real portable system with all the information at any computer...
Perfect choice... :-)
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost Perfect, August 9, 2007
This review is from: SanDisk 2 GB Cruzer Titanium ( SDCZ7-2048-A10, Retail Package) (Personal Computers)
I have been a big fan of USB drives ever since they started coming out about 5 years ago. They have made zip drives and floppy disks obsolete. Through the years, I have owned about a dozen different kinds from different brands. Compared with others on the market and all the USB drives I have ever owned, the Sandisk Titanium drive is among the best. Here are the reasons why:
Pros: It is built tough (titanium coated) to withstand thousands of pounds of pressure. No other on the market has this feature. The read and write speed is consistently fast. It has a small form factor (though there are others that are smaller), The blue LED indicator light is nice, it's price is a bargain for the quality, and it's highly reliable. The retractable feature is also a nice touch. I really like that there's an option to delete the pre-installed U3 software on the drive.
Cons: The silver surface scratches surprisingly easy and
makes it look dirty (and no longer shiny) when scratched. The drive could be even smaller. In fact, the first generation micro USB drives from Sandisk were smaller! Although, this 2nd Generation drive is about a third smaller than the original titanium drive. Other metallic color options would be nice... instead of just silver.
Conclusion: This drive is the Porsche of USB/thumb drives... and yet it's
now affordable. The price is about half of what it used to be when it first came to market. It's also reliable, tough, well built, and attractive. If they could somehow make it a bit smaller and scratch resistant... it would be perfect.
Note: If you like this drive but don't like the silver metal color, the Sandisk micro drive is almost identical but is made from black plastic instead of titanium coating. It also has an amber colored LED instead of blue and is also less expensive. Size, Shape, and Functions are the same.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SanDisk Cruzer Titanium with Skype Will Keep You Connected, February 8, 2007
This review is from: SanDisk 2 GB Cruzer Titanium ( SDCZ7-2048-A10, Retail Package) (Personal Computers)
In my seemingly never-ending quest to find just the right gizmos to make life with VOIP all that it can be, I now find myself with a SanDisk Cruzer Titanium USB Flash Drive with Skype pre-installed on it to try out.
This tough little keyring-sized USB drive comes in either 1.0GB or 2.0GB (I've got the 2.0GB) and comes preloaded with not only Skype, but Avast antivirus software, CruzerSync to sychronize files and Outlook for access on any PC and also Signup Shield to make password retention easy. It's compatible with Windows XP or 2000, Linux and Mac OS 9.1.x+ and OS X v10.1.2+.
It comes with a little clip that I assume can be used to clip it on your pocket or "nerd pack" (remember those?). SanDisk also provides a cord you can clip it to and hand it around your neck.
The idea, of course, is to allow you to set up this USB drive with all of the files and programs you need to simply pop it into a PC somewhere, use them and leave the guest PC without a trace that you were there. With one exception (which I'll mention later), I'd say this little baby is a smashing success.
Physically, the Cruzer is an attractive, compact USB drive with a retractable USB connector and a slick looking "Liquidmetal" case which the literature claims "withstands 2,000 pounds of crushforce." Needless to say, I didn't test this by driving over it with my car. I'll take their word that it's tough.
The product, unfortunately, comes in one of those "blister" packages - the kind that you could slice your fingers or even your wrist trying to open. There's no way to open it barehanded and even with scissors, you risk drawing blood. I know they want to keep people from stealing these babies in the store, but I do wish they could come up with a less "cutting" approach to packaging.
Once I got the Cruzer extracted from the packaging, I popped it into my work Windows XP laptop, the software installed automagically and I was presented with the U3 Launchpad. U3 is the "operating system" the USB drive runs off of and I was stunned at the number of U3 compliant software titles available through the U3 Download Central and the SanDisk U3 download site - cool free stuff like Trillian, OpenOffice and Filezilla along with a ton of commercial products.
Installing new software is as easy as clicking on "Add Programs" in the U3 Lauchpad pop-up. You're given the choices of adding through one of the previously mentioned web sites or from your computer. There's so much neat (and free) stuff you'll have to take care not to fill up your 2.0GB in one fell swoop.
My main reason for trying out the Cruzer, however, was for Skype portability. I want to be able to take SKype anywhere I want on my keyring and plug it into any connected PC to make calls. Of course, you have to hope the "guest" PC has a microphone and speakers or a headset, but I generally carry a small headset in my bag anyway, just in case. But, a great addon product for the Cruzer would be a small pocket headset like you can get for a cell phone - an ear piece with a microphone in the cord, but with two plugs at the end for a typical PC (one for audio, one for microphone). With such a pocket headset, I could leave the bag at home.
I fired up Skype from the USB drive, typed in my username and password and made a few Skype calls. Worked great, even through my laptop speakers and microphone.
I moved the Cruzer over to my desktop PC and, after a few new device install prompts, I was up and running again with the U3 Launchpad. Again, Skype worked flawlessly. The same on my partner's Toshiba laptop. The only PC I had on hand that absolutely refused to load U3 was a four-year-old Averatec that I pulled out of storage. Though it's running Windows XP, apparently the 256MB of RAM just wouldn't cut it on that old machine. A pop-up window said it found the Cruzer and then the little laptop just sat there and wouldn't respond.
Next, I tried out CruzerSync on my Outlook and files. Again, this worked flawlessly, copying selected files and e-mail to the flash drive, but there is one fly in the ointment, potentially a serious one to someone who would like to use the Cruzer for business purposes. This is the exception I mentioned above.
Outlook on my laptop connects to Exchange on a company network to handle e-mail. This requires a VPN into the office (We use Cisco VPN). On my laptop, this is no problem, but if I take the Cruzer to another PC, I need a way to connect to the VPN. Currently, there appears to be no U3 compliant VPN software of any kind available. The U3 Software Central site has all kinds of software - CalorieKing Diet Log for U3, Mozilla Thunderbird for U3 and even Heatseek, a "private and secure, all-in-one adult content (porn) browser, downloader, viewer, and file organizer." ;-)
But no VPN.
A quick search on Google revealed that I am not the only one in need of a VPN solution. It appears one might be on the way from Sweet Spot Solutions, but as of this writing, it's not available for download as far as I can tell.
If they can get the VPN void filled, I can see the Cruzer being loaded with software and handed out to employees by cutting edge companies looking for ways to keep in touch and encourage productivity outside of the office.
That said, I'm thrilled with the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium USB Flash Drive. It's almost like having a keychain PC with Skype without lugging a keyboard and monitor.
I love it!
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