Ever on the lookout for excellent tech, I recently stumbled upon a fantastic device: the Patriot Memory Xporter XT 4GB High-Speed USB 2.0 Flash Drive.
What makes this flash drive so much better than other drives? A few things. First, it's FAST...very fast. Patriot claims that this drive has a 200X read speed (that's roughly 30 MB/sec) and a write speed somewhat less than that. My usage experience -- I've owned one for a few months now -- is that this is undoubtedly the fastest flash drive I've ever used and I've yet to see the Xporter XT be the rate-limiting device when transferring data to/from other storage media and drives.
Second, it's ruggedized. The exterior covering is a dense rubber making it a little water resistant (splashes of water don't seem to phase it with the cap on) and pretty much impervious to damage from dropping or getting mashed inside a crowded bag.
The drive also has some more typical pros, such as an activity LED and driverless compatibility with modern operating systems. One other interesting tidbit is that Patriot recently certified that the Xporter XT line is Windows Vista ReadyBoost compatible, meaning it can be used by Vista systems as an extension to system RAM. This isn't unique, but it's nice to know the device is fully compatible.
The only downsides to this flash drive are minor, IMO: size (it's certainly not the smallest flash drive out there, but I've yet to find a situation where it wouldn't fit in the USB port) and the cap isn't permanently tethered (although the little rubber tab hanging on the chain gives you a place to "park" the cap when the drive is being used).
But honestly, these are rather trivial concerns when you consider the speed, capacity, and durability of this 4GB Patriot Xporter XT flash drive. If you hate waiting and want to be confident that your flash drive isn't getting demolished in your backpack, this is definitely a recommended device, even at its street price of around $110.
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