Introduction

If you ever owned a digital camera chances are you have heard of SanDisk. They specialize in memory cards in all sizes, formats and speeds. It’s no surprise then that SanDisk also has a healthy lineup of USB memory sticks.

Today we take a closer look at the new Cruzer Micro USB drive, which has received a major overhaul compared to the old generation.



Inside the flashy red retail package you’ll find an instruction manual, a 50 download voucher for free music, the Cruzer Micro has a small application installed called “U3” which is works as a self-contained launch-pad under Windows 2000 (SP4+) and Windows XP. You get a nice start menu at the right side next to the system clock; you can take applications and their data with you wherever you go. By default you get Skype and McAfee AV (30-day trial) preinstalled as well as their in-house password manager utility. You can also create a password protected area on the USB stick where you can safely store documents.



While the U3 launch pad application is certainly a very nice added value, there are free-ware alternatives like MojoPac which will let you run a complete WinXP OS on your USB stick to take with you, also password protected.


Specifications

From their product page we gathered the following details on the Cruzer Micro USB Stick:

Capacities: 512MB, 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB

Dimensions: 7.94mm x 20.6mm x 57.15mm (D x W x L)

Hi-Speed USB 2.0 certified (backwards compatible with all USB 1.1 ports)

Retractable USB connector

Brilliant amber LED

U3 smart enabled (On Win2000 SP4+ and XP only!)

2 Year Warranty

Let’s take a closer look at the Cruzer Micro ->