In today’s world users download and share a lot of multimedia content, the likes of movies, TV series, and music and high resolution photos, but its not only capacity that’s important but also transfer speeds.

Kingston’s second generation (G2) DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 flash drives enable power PC users that already have a USB 3.0 compatible system, to enjoy significant speed increases when it comes to their portable storage usage.

Features

The compact (73.7 x 22.2 x 16.1 mm) DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G2 USB drive is constructed from durable plastic casing and comes with a five year warranty offering users peace of mind. Like the Imation Atom Flash Drive 8 GB, this drive also features a handy  keyring attachment so you don't loose track of it. In terms of storage, the Kingston sports a very usable 16 GB (32 GB and 64 GB also available) of data storage, and provides users with a massive speed boost when it is connected to a USB 3.0 port. According to Kingston the device will deliver data transfer speeds of up to 100 MB per second when reading data from the device and 70 MB per second when writing to the drive, when it is connected to a USB 3.0 system. If this device is plugged into a USB 2.0 port though it offers users a transfer speed of up to 30 MB per second (read and write).   

Speed

Impressive as those figures are, what does it mean to the user in real world terms? Whilst the DataTraveler Ultimate was plugged into a USB 2.0 port, we managed to copy a 700 MB movie file from the PC to the flash drive 35 seconds flat. When it was connected to a USB 3.0 slot however, this same file was copied to the flash disk in 13.4 seconds.

Copying this movie file back to the PC took 21.6 seconds on the USB 2.0 connection and only 12.9 seconds from the USB 3.0 port. As you can see from these figures the DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 flash drive does indeed offer major speed improvements.

Final word

Kingston’s DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G2 16 GB sports a portable and durable design and offers users plenty of storage space, as well as significant transfer speed gains, if they have a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port on their system.   

It is available for a recommended retail price of R582 for the 16 GB model, but if you require more space, there’s also a 32 GB drive going for R872 and a 64 GB model carrying an RRP of R1605.

Pro: USB SuperSpeed performance levels, five year warrenty, handy key ring attachment.

Con: Expensive compared to the run-of-the-mill USB 2.0 versions, not as stylishly designed as some competing devices.

Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G2 specifications:

Capacities: 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB
Requirements: system with USB 3.0 port
Backwards compatible: with USB 2.0
Speed: USB 3.0 system: up to 100 MB/s read & 70 MB/s write;
             USB 2.0 system: maximum performance (around 30 MB/s read and write)
Dimensions: 73.70 x 22.2 x 16.1 mm
Operating Temperature: 0°C to 60°C
Storage Temperature: -20°C to 85°C
Practical: durable casing with a solid lanyard loop
Warranty: five years