Product Name:

SanDisk Cruzer Contour 4gb

Manufacturer:

SanDisk

Website:

http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Catalog(1225)-SanDisk_Cruzer_Contour_USB_Flash_Drive.aspx

Price:

$99.99

Synopsis:

The SanDisk Cruzer Contour is a U3 USB drive with a unique sliding mechanism that will alternately expose and conceal the USB connector eliminating lost caps.

Description:

USB drives are about the same as any other USB drive with only a few points to distinguish one from another.

1) Capacity: The Contours currently come in 4gb (MSRP $99.99) and 8gb (MSRP $149.99) models which is on the upper end of the drive sizes commonly available.

2) Read/Write Speed:

Write speed of 18 MB/sec², double the performance of SanDisk’s previous top-of-the-line model. Read speed for Cruzer Contour is two-thirds faster, at 25 MB/sec²

3) Durability: This device is very solid feeling and the movement is smooth and well machined

4) Included Software:

Includes the following U3 compatible PC programs:
-CruzerSync - Desktop synchronization tool
- SignupShield - Password manager
- SKYPE - PC to PC video and audio calls
- AVAST - Antivirus
- HP Photosmart
- Sudoku/Mahjong

5) ReadyBoost:

ReadyBoost allows your PC to use any “Enhanced for ReadyBoost” flash drive as additional memory. In effect, the flash drive becomes an extension of your system’s RAM. Because applications can retrieve data from the flash drive more quickly than from your PC’s hard drive, your system responds faster and runs better.

6) U3 Technology: In a nutshell, U3 applications are similar to PortableApps, in which the programs are live on the thumbdrive and are zero touch to whatever WindowsPC you run them on. U3 apps are slightly different in that there is a built in launcher and system for managing the install, removal and launching of these applications as well as many retail apps that are available for this U3 platform.

Learn more about U3 drives here: http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1450

Benefits:

The sliding mechanism eliminates a separate cap which invariably gets lost. The R/W speed is well above average for most USB drives.

Shortcomings/Areas for Improvement:

This drive is quite solid and constructed with actual metal and normally wouldn’t be considered as a negative; however it has a fair mass and is quite noticeable when placed in a shirt or pants pocket.

The top of the device has ridges to assist in gripping the slider, but the sides and bottom are smooth and tends to not provide sufficient traction to grip when operating the slider.

There is no loop for attaching to a lanyard or keychain without using the little pouch. The pouch will increase the overall volume and weight of carrying it on a keychain or necklace. It might have been more reasonable to use with a belt holster instead.

The overall dimensions are a bit larger than the average USB drive and much larger Cruzer Micro, I assume to house the sliding mechanics.

Moving parts…

The ultimate test for any thumbdrive is the washing machine… I have accidentally left a few thumbdrives in my pants pocket and had them go through a wash and dry. A few of them have had no problems and only add ‘unintended’ points to their durability. As this device has no lanyard loop, it lends itself to living in pants pockets, but I’m not going to intentionally wash it, I’ll wait for it to happen on its own.

Overall Recommendation:

The Cruzer Contour is a very solid feeling device and possesses a very satisfying “geek coolness factor”. SanDisk is a very solid reputation and makes many reliable products; this will be another feather in their product lineup cap. It is a bit more expensive than the price of the average USB drive price by capacity, but its assorted features provide value beyond “just capacity”. I have a hard time keeping from playing with it.

The U3 platform is a very convenient method of adding easy to run applications to a thumbdrive, I quickly added Firefox, OpenOffice, and Thunderbird in a matter of moments and could easily access them from the drive on any PC I inserted the drive into

Score:

4 out of 5