Review on Super Talent Pico-C Gold USB 2.0 Flash Drive, 4 GB: STU4GPCG by Rodney Bullock

I'm an IT professional and like many computer savvy people I've proven that I'm the go-to person for any computing and computing problems my friends and family have. I bought this USB stick (32GB nickel-plated version) in early 2012 after one of my colleagues showed it to me and described its characteristics to my complaint about the need to buy such a product. Intending to use it for my daily work and troubleshooting like him, I immediately partitioned it and loaded it with a full set of portable applications, software installers, guides and general IT tools. I even went so far as to put a USB bootable Linux distribution on a partition. It's been 2 years since then and I use this USB drive extensively. here are my findings. In a nutshell: + Small size + Extremely durable + Low price per GB = Typical USB 2.0 speed = Slightly less capacity than stated (is normal, have a look) - Coating will flake off over time - Fits a little tight - Will hot after extension Use Depth: + SIZE: Measures approximately 1" x 1/2" x 1/8" (with chain hole adding 1/8" to length). Easily fits on a keychain or necklace. Although it comes with a small chain I have never used it as I prefer to wear it on a key ring or chain. + DURABILITY: This bad boy is crazy metal and it's DURABLE. In the 2 years since I bought this USB drive, it has suffered a lot. It has been dropped, stepped on, thrown, dunked, hit, soiled and subjected to every other form of abuse imaginable and yet it still works as I bought it yesterday. Even constant plugging and unplugging has not yet worn out the pins. + PRICE: When I bought this drive, it was $42 for 32GB, which I didn't think was bad at the time given the specs (size, durability, capacity, etc.). Now it seems to be hovering between $25 and $30 - a damn good deal in my opinion. = SPEED: Typical USB 2.0 speed. In tests I got up to 20 MB/s, but realistically I think I usually see around 8-12 MB/s. The speed has been fairly consistent and after 2 years I still haven't noticed any noticeable loss in read/write speeds due to wear and tear from overwriting data. 1 kilo = 1000) for advertising and computers, the binary system is used (1 kilo - 1024), the actual size is 30.23 GB. Since this is typical of flash drives, hard drives, SD cards, etc., I can hardly fault it. Otherwise it's not too much of a loss and 30GB is still a lot of storage space. = FEATURES: Nothing fancy, no frills, no LED indicators, no hardware encryption - none of that. This is exactly what is advertised - a simple, but small and durable USB stick. - LICENSE PLATE: Both the silver and nickel versions scratch easily, while the nickel version picks up fingerprints like any shiny surface. I can't remember exactly how long it lasted, but the nickel plating will wear off over time with enough wear. This isn't too much of a problem for me as the metal underneath the plating is a matte silver color and looks nice. My rim is actually starting to show copper ting on the corners after this wear, although I can't tell if it's just discoloration from everything it's been through or if the metal is really worn. Fits a little tight into some USB ports at first, but contrary to other reviewers' experiences, I haven't come across a USB port that doesn't physically fit because it's too big. Over time the edges frayed a bit and now it fits really well. HEAT: When a disc is written for a long period of time, it can become warm. Hot enough to be a little painful to remove, but not hot enough to burn skin. It doesn't seem to affect performance in any way. Summary: This really is one of the best USB 2.0 sticks you can get in terms of size and durability. I've seen less, but not as much. If you're looking for a small flash drive that fits on a keychain or necklace, with a decent capacity and isn't too concerned about write speeds, then I STRONGLY recommend you take a closer look. If speed is a concern, look for a USB 3.0 flash drive instead.