The Cruzer Contour

The Sandisk Cruzer Contour sports a beautifully contoured design with a unique sliding mechanism. The Flash memory is situated inside the glossy black part, which slides in and out of a sheet of metal bent around it on three sides. This metal part also provides protection to the drive, at least on three sides.

While the metal surface seems scratch-resistant, the glossy plastic surface is just the opposite and is a fingerprint magnet.

As we mentioned before, the sliding mechanism is unique, but not exactly simple to operate, as was the case with the Cruzer Titanium. You can see exactly how it is operated in the above figure.

Unlike previous drives, the USB plug is protected by a flap when it gets retracted in the storage position. A cap-less design means that you do not have to worry about losing the protective cap. But the mechanism has its share of problems - it does not open properly when operated rapidly. Also, the USB plug tends to get pushed inside while inserting because you tend to hold the drive on the plastic, so you have to be careful to hold the metal surface while doing so. The drive is bulky, so using the adjacent USB port is difficult. But putting it in the pocket is not a problem.