Home > Consumer Reviews > Kingston 1 GB USB 2.0 Hi-Speed DataTraveler 100 Flash Drive DT100B/1GB (Blue)

I tested the write speed of the red 2GB model on my Windows XP notebook and desktop, and for a single large 100-200MB file, the write speed is 4.3 MB/s. That means if you want to write 2,000MB of assorted large files it will probably take about 8 minutes. I didn't test read speed or speed with lots of small files. Note that there are two retractable drives at the same price point that are 40% to 160% faster writing (the pqi i810 and Sandisk Cruzer Titanium 2GB models, respectively). Also, the Kingston DataTraveler 110 (a newer model) has been reviewed to be at least 100% faster than the 100 as well, but the 110 is significantly fatter and may get in the way of other USB ports.

Other notes: When you retract the drive the USB connector remains flush with the body and there is no "door" (like all the retractables I've seen), so if you throw this in your pocket you may get lint in the connector. There is a small green LED light that blinks once quickly when you insert the drive, and blinks repeatedly when there is activity. The drive is recognized quickly.

There are no accessories: There is no lanyard and if you want to hang this on a keyring, you will need to find a tiny keyring and try hard to squeeze it on, and then latch on the tiny keyring to your normal keyring. There is no metal swivel cover like in one of the user photos.

The body is plastic and the label is cheap peel-off and already coming off after several days. The slide-out mechanism locks when fully extended and the thickness is a little narrower than average.

The main issue is I was expecting a faster write rate.

UPDATE: The cheap label I mentioned was just a plastic protector. After I peeled it off, the "DataTraveler 2GB" remains inscribed on the plastic.

Before I bought this, I owned several of the older Kingston Flash Drives with the white top. When I saw this one with the slider bar and no top to worry with, I had to have it. Works great and my data transfers very quickly. The slider is a little stiff, however, the flash drive is still new and hopefully it will loosen up a bit. All in all a well made unit. Highly recommend this one. It beats the SanDisk because there is not USELESS U3 software and this flash drive loads very quickly!

I've had 10 or 11 USB drives over the years. Most I've given away as I bought ones that were bigger and better (I "only" have 5 now). In comparison, this one seems faster than most of the others. It's definitely faster than another Kingston model I had. Portable Apps installed quickly and flawlessly, and although the description doesn't say that it's ReadyBoost-ready ... mine is.

I like the fact that I can't lose the cap.

I'll buy a higher-capacity one like this ... probably soon.

This is the first Flash Drive I've ever gotten and i did a lot of research before making the decision. Straight out of the box it worked brilliantly and installed itself with a Microsoft XP and VISTA computer instantly. It comes with Readyboost on it but you can choose if you want it to be used. However, the best feature of all is that it is lightning fast and very simple to use.

Another thing I like about it that I didn't know when I bought it was how it lights up when connected with a computer. This can very be helpful when you're not sure weather it's attached to the computer. The USB slider is awesome and I have already picked up a bad habit of moving it back and forth (which will probably end up breaking it)...

The drive is a little fragile and probably wont last long if your one of those people who get a kick out of beating up electronics but other than that great workmanship for the price!

I purchased this to plug into the back of my grandmother's digital photo album. Like every Kingston product I have ever used, it was simple, quick, and got the job done. The only thing I don't like about this particular model is that the plug-in portion slides out. Nifty, right? Well, for some reason, I couldn't get it to lock and it took 5 minutes of finesse pushing it in to get it to register and stick in the USB port. What's the point if it keeps recessing? I ended up needing another flash drive, for the other grandmother, and purchased a kingston that doesn't retract and had great success.