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Corsair Flash Voyager GT 16 GB

Jayesh Limaye, Jan 08, 2009 1320 hrs IST

This rugged drive is supposed to be pretty fast, but is it really? Read on to find out.

Expert Rating:

Fast read speeds, Shockproof and splashproof rubber jacket, USB extension cable.

Slow write speeds, Lacks any "real" security feature or software bundle.

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EXPERT REVIEW

Features

The Flash Voyager is rather chubby; it is 75 mm in length, 15 mm in thickness and 24 mm in width at the widest point, and weighs 17 gm.

The exterior of the drive consists of a rubber jacket that serves a dual purpose; it protects the drive from mechanical shock, and also makes it splash-proof, thanks to the rubber cap that snugly fits onto the USB plug. We dropped it a couple of times and the rubber jacket really works as an excellent shock absorber. We also dipped the Flash Voyager into water, but the rubber jacket keeps water from reaching the USB plug. However, we'd like to add that it may be able to prevent water from entering only up to a certain depth of water.

The rubber jacket even has a design; most of it is black, while there are bright red edges on the sides. This is the area where you tend to hold the stick, and it helps you get a firm grip. Still, the rubber jacket is also sort of a magnet for dust and fine fibers, and tends to quickly get dirty.

At the bottom of the drive, just above the hole where the lanyard is to be attached, is an activity LED that glows bright blue.

ReadyBoost and More

The drive shows up as soon as you plug it in a USB port. In Vista, it prompts you to either use it as a storage drive or to speed up the computer using ReadyBoost.

Ready to Boost

Under Device Properties, we found that it does actually pass the inbuilt test for ReadyBoost readiness.

The capacity of the drive in Properties shows as 15.1 GB. We noticed that the drive is formatted with FAT32 for backward compatibility's sake, but you can format it with NTFS. Formatting it into NTFS allows you to carry any file larger than 4 GB, such as a dual-layer DVD image.

This is a value drive, so we did not expect security frills. Earlier, Corsair would provide a mini CD for the software; later, to cut on costs, it used to ship the software on the drive itself. Then it used to mention the software on the website and it redirected you to the TrueCrypt Free Open-Source encryption software site, from where you could download and install the software. Now, we do not see that and it seems that Corsair has disassociated itself from TrueCrypt. That does not mean that you cannot use this extremely useful free encryption software with this USB drive.

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USER COMMENTS

voyagers are available at Computer Empire,nehru place ,new delhi and disributed by ktech distributions check corsair site..

by sachin, dellhi, on Jan 10, 2009 08:44 AM, Report abuse Reply

voyagers are available at Computer Empire,nehru place ,new delhi anddisributed by ktech distributions

by sachin, dellhi, on Jan 10, 2009 08:39 AM, Report abuse Reply

This drive is actually priced on street at 1550 Rs. Its is amazingly fast and even the normal corsair voyager in 8gb variety is usable for ready boost.

by suhail, Delhi, on Jan 08, 2009 09:31 PM, Report abuse Reply

The price you have mentioned is of Corsair Voyager 16GB NON GT drive and not this reviewed GT product. And I second the Reviewer's view that this drive is not value for money. Get the non gt version for a lot less (Rs. 1.5K). Both GT and Non GT versions are MLC based hence, not worth it. If the GT version was SLC then, it would have rocked.

by djsays, Mumbai, on Jan 09, 2009 08:16 PM, Report abuse Reply