Customer Reviews

HP v165w 4 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive P-FD4GBHP165-EF (Blue)

5 star:		(192)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(41)

 

 

This is a great little piece of machinery. It's straightforward, functional, and--what can I say?--truly cute. It's one of the teeniest USB flash drives I've ever seen, and for me, that's a good thing. I needed a USB drive that could fit into the back port of my Xbox 360 (the original white Arcade model), and the HP v165w does the trick beautifully. It also works great as a storage device for your computer.

Here's a breakdown of its features:

>> The package

The v165w comes in a thin, minimal-plastic package that looks exactly like the container shown on the product photos. It's basically a plastic holder sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard. Nice to look at, hard to open (just like most electronics packaging). Inside, you get the actual USB drive and a tiny lanyard similar to something you'd find on a cell phone charm. No other instructions or slips of paper are included (not that they're needed).

The back of the packaging lists the following system requirements:
- Windows and Mac compatible
- Operating systems supported:
Windows: 2000, XP, Vista, 7
Mac OS: 10.3 or later. USB 2.0


>> It's tiny!

This is a very small USB drive, which can be good or bad depending on your needs or tendency to lose small things. The entire drive could almost fit on a U.S. quarter, meaning it can go all the places a quarter can: a pocket, a wallet, or underneath the sofa cushion. With the lanyard, you can easily hang it from your cell phone as an ultra-techie decorative charm. It won't crowd your keys, either. If you're a person who needs some on-the-go storage available at all times, this ultra-portable drive won't let you down.

The translucent blue covering is a great color, too. With its sleek, concave styling, it's almost reminiscent of a bite-sized blue Xbox 360, which brings me to my next topic...


>>It plays well with the Xbox

The v165w is one of the few USB drives that actually fits into that secret USB port at the back of most original Xbox 360 models. It also fits quite nicely in the front two ports, if you prefer to use those. It's small enough that it'll fit snugly without sticking out of any of the ports, and yet you can pull it out if need be.

The great news is that it passes Microsoft's performance tests with flying colors. Once I formatted it for my Xbox--a total of 14.5 GB were available--I got the thumbs-up that this USB drive met specifications. Awesome!

Update Nov. 30, 2010:

It seems some people have been having problems with the 4GB version of this USB drive when using it for Xbox data storage. I wanted to come back and say that I have not encountered any problems with my 16GB drive at all. Since this drive is supplementary to an official Xbox hard drive I have on the system, I don't keep any vital data like my profile or current game saves on this 16GB USB. I do, however, save all my videos to it, and I'm able to play back all videos without a hitch. I've also put old game saves and downloadable content on the USB without any issues. My recommendation is to use this drive as a companion to your official Xbox hard drive in order to free up space on your primary HD. Likewise, I suggest keeping the USB connected to the system if you decide to use it that way, so the Xbox continually recognizes it as a data storage device.

Since I haven't tested the other sizes of this USB, I can't accurately review them. But I continue to recommend the 16GB version of this USB drive as supplementary Xbox 360 storage.


>>It plays well with computers

Before commissioning the USB stick for Xbox storage, I tried it out with my computer. I was happy to see that the v165w is a straightforward storage device with no hidden or extraneous software pre-installed. You pop it in, wait a few seconds for your computer to recognize it, then open up the folder to find 15.1 GB of fresh space waiting to be filled. Beautiful.

I'm not a speed maven, so I didn't do any special speed tests with transferring large files and such. I will say that it seemed as quick as other USB drives I've used--maybe even quicker.

The v165w also works perfectly across Windows and Mac platforms. Files saved on one operating system are easily recognized by the other.


>>Things to note

* This USB drive comes with a cap, meaning the cap can be lost or misplaced. It fits very snugly on the drive, though, so it shouldn't come off on its own.

* There are no LED lights or other indicators to let you know the drive is running. This is understandable, because the whole point of the v165w is portability. Still, it's something to keep in mind.

* You get 15.1 GB of computer storage and 14.5 GB of Xbox storage because the Xbox uses up about 500MB for storing settings and other hidden data once it formats the drive.


>>Closing comments

Overall, I love this tiny drive! It's cute, straightforward, and ultra-portable. It works with my computer and my Xbox, and it fits in all the places I need it to fit. Highly recommended for folks who want something small and powerful. I'm still amazed they could pack a whole 16GB (15.1GB, really) onto something so tiny. It's great!

OK, so I mistakenly put it through the laundry in my pants pocket. 45 minutes of washing in soapy water, and another 50 minutes of tumbling in the dryer.

I didn't expect much when I put it into the usb drive, but holy electrons!! It worked!! I used it to store about 3 gig of photos, and was able to transfer them, and add new data to the drive.

I doubt that HP is going to advertise this little beauty as waterproof and heat resistant, but it sure is nice to know that it will take a beating and still work.

I wanted a thumb drive that I could plug into the USB port on my car stereo that could hold a lot (16 gigs) of music. This fulfilled those requirements. The added benifit is that its small, so it doesn't attract a lot of attention.

PROS:
-Small
-Tight cap (won't fall off)
-Holds a lot of (music) info

CONS:
-None for me!

Other Thoughts: Its so small that I can plug it into my netbook and leave it there without worrying about it snagging on anything (like a case).

HP v165w 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive P-FD16GHP165-EF (Blue) Purchased this flash drive (16GB) as a lightening deal; for the amount of memory and the price this is an amazing value. Primary use is for files I use between a desktop and laptop at home and my computer at work. After receiving the product it is just as small as others have remarked. The 16GB is showing up as 15.1GB which counting the marketed size is just right. With the included hook assembly it fits on any keychain for easy transport. Overall I would consider purchasing another one even at the current price as I am very happy with this one.

I've used the 4GB model for over a year and the 16GB version for several months with no problems.

I will say that many "problems" people have with data just "disappearing" or getting corrupted are actual not problems with the drive itself, but how you have your computer set up to work with them. On Windows, if you don't have the drive configured using the "Quick Removal" policy, you MUST properly eject/disconnect the device before physically unplugging it, otherwise, you are not guaranteed that all the data you "wrote" to the device has actually been transferred to the device. Browsing the device, it may "look" like it's all there, but parts may still be in the computer's Disk I/O cache waiting to be written. If you use Thumb Drives to transfer/store data, be absolutely sure you set the properties on that device properly, or always use the "Eject/Safely Remove" option on the device before physically unplugging it. The first thing I do when plugging a USB drive in is check the Device Properties in the Explorer and make sure the Policy is set for Quick Removal, not the best performance policy.

I'd love to have all the devices people throw away claiming that their files got corrupted or vanished when using it... Only a fraction of them are actually faulty. :)

The drive worked for a few weeks then one day it just quit working. I can see files on there but I can't copy them off and I cannot reformat the drive. I have tried in several machines. Cannot see to find any of of claiming on the warranty. You need a serial number which is apparently not printed on the device but on the UPC area of the blister pack which ofcorse I discarded. So it seems I wasted $33.00

Thanks for standing behind your product HP... :P

I bought 4 of these tiny blue 4GB drives. One gave corrupted files; to avoid hassle of returning I discarded it. The other 2 gave me corrupted files when I was overseas. On the surface they copied all my folders, and it was only when I opened the folders that I found that the inside files were all jibberish symbols, with no words. When I earlier tried to copy these corrupt files, the computer flashed "corrupt files". Since I had lost my receipt, I just threw away these 2. So, 3 out of 4 drives are useless; wasted money.
These tiny blue drives are made by PNY and sometimes sold under the HP brand, and also the PNY brand. Be warned.

I bought the 4GB model based on a review of the 16GB version that said that it worked well on the Xbox 360. I formatted the drive and the xbox said that it met the performance requirements. I then moved my account and save data onto the drive. The next evening I turned on the console and found that everything on the drive was gone. It was no longer even formatted. On subsequent attempts at reformatting the drive I got errors saying that it could not configure the drive (no more explanation) or that it failed the data loss test.

I wish that this had happened before I lost 4 years of game save data! I am going to try to return it now - it may work for other applications but I definitely would not risk putting more important information on this drive. It's possible that it was an isolated defective unit, but there are many other usb drives to choose from... I recommend looking elsewhere.

I purchased the HP v165w 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive from Amazon.com---after reading glowing reviews by Amazon.com customers. WHAT A DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE! The flash drive was very unstable in storing my data; often data would simply disappear without a trace. Also, this flash drive is poorly designed and flimsy. I would NOT recommend this product to any person. I will return this product back to AMAZON.COM

This drive is not recognized by many computers depending on which one you have. I called HP and they were not able to support this product. I went to HP online and they can't even recognize this product. The end result is that this drive cannot be recognized at all on my Windows 7 system despite the fact that Windows says drivers are up to date and are operating normally.

I wen't online to try and see if there is a fix in the user forums and I started finding a whole lot of others like me who have not found an answer on how to get the drive to work.

I'm returning this one tomorrow. I have had good experience with ATOM, Memorex, and Corsair flash drives.