Pico A 8 GB Small dimensions, large storage space.

Author: Jouni 'Jipa' Vasama Published: 17.04.2008 Manufacturer: Super Talent Product Group: Storage In English Suomeksi

Intro

Don't panic even if the topic triggers a strong déjà vu feeling in you, because indeed we have already reviewed one Super Talent Pico A USB flash drive. The difference this time around is that now Super Talent has come up with a new model in the same product family and now the Pico series ranges from 1 GB up to 8 GB in capacity.

Pico

The package is identical to that of the 2 GB version. Thankfully Super Talent hasn't sealed the edges and the package is easily opened without any sharp objects. Also the short chain is included which makes it easy to keep the drive attached to a key chain. I've now had the original 2 GB test sample hanging from my key chain for almost five months and so far the chain has stayed intacted, so there's no reason to believe it would fail in normal use.

They really make optical discs seem like a mediocre way of saving data as now even the smallest of USB memories also offer capacities larger than the 4,7 GB that a normal DVD provides. You can also see that the 8 GB model (the lower one on this photo) doesn't have the Super Talent logo printed on it. I don't know if this is due to it being a pre-production sample or if there's been some sort of mistake, but I believe that the drives that hit the stores will have the print.

Externally the new 8 GB model is identical with the 2 GB model, so for further details on the outlooks and in-detph review, please see the original review of the 2 GB Pico.

Performance

Performance of the new 8 GB drive is what really interests us. The original 2 GB Pico A proved to be a very fast USB flash memory, so expectations were high with the new model as well. The tests were ran on a new test setup, so they can't be directly compared, but they are still very close to each other. With the 2 GB drive the transfer speed remained constant throughout the test, but with the 8 GB drive there are some pretty deep drops in the transfer speed. There are three of these drops which leads us to believe that there are four 2 GB memory chips inside the 8 GB model.

In practice the performance hit is very minimal and doesn't have a noticeable effect on the average transfer speed. Overall the results are top notch for a flash drive and even come close to the limitations of the USB itself.

Conclusion PROS  Compact size Fast transfer speed Durable metal cover CONS  - The original Pico A 2 GB got our Editor's Choice award and has ever since indeed been in the editor's daily use. The only real difference in the new 8 GB drive is the four times higher capacity, so there's no reason why this newcomer wouldn't replace its smaller brother in my use. The decission between these two great USB memories boils down to what the buyer really wants from his thumb drive and how much he/she's prepared to pay. If one just wants to take backups of his/her text documents then even the 1 GB version may be enough, but if you are planning to use the drive to move large amounts of photos or even videos then the 8 GB is the way to go. Which ever you choose, you can be sure to get a small and handy flash drive that also provides excellent performance.

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