The files that we used everyday continue to grow larger and larger along with the need to have them with you at all times. Because of that, the demand for flash drives continues to grow. For a while, it was all about how large of capacity the companies could pack into the flash drives. Now it we are starting to see companies focus on other things like size. At CES this past January, I had the chance to talk with a few people from Super Talent and take a look at a few items they had cooking for this year. One of those items is their PICO line of USB drives. The goal of the PICO line was to pack as much capacity into the smallest package. Today we have a chance to take a look at their PICO C Capless (and gold plated) model with a capacity of a whopping 16 gigs.
Product Name: Pico 16 Gig USB drive
Review Sample Provided by: Super Talent
Review by: Wes
Review pictures by: Wes
Specifications
| Capacities: | 1GB - 16GB* |
| Speed: | Up to 30MB/sec (200x)** |
| Dimensions: | 31.3mm x 12.4mm x 3.4mm |
| Package: | Steel |
| Temperature: | Storage = -20°C to 85°C Operating = 0°C to 60°C |
| USB: | USB 2.0 and 1.1 compatible |
| Data Retention: | Upto10years |
| Browser Support: | Windows 98 and above Mac- Mac 10.x and above |
| Handy: | Extremely small and lightweight for easy portability |
| Stylish: | Available in three versions |
| Durable: | Shock resistant and water resistant |
| Hot Plug & Play: | Available |
| Driver downloads: | Free password control through Super Talent's website |
| Guaranteed : | Backed with Super Talent's three year warranty |
| Made in USA: | Designed and Manufactured in USA |
Packaging
In an elegant black package with gold trim you can tell that Super Talent is especially proud of the PICO. Once you open the front "door", you will find the USB drive featured with a window, again showing off its small size. The back of the packaging has a short feature list in multiple languages. One thing that stands out to me about the packaging, even though it looks great, there is nothing that says specifically what model this is. All of the specifications have words in them like "less than" and "up to". I would like to see the packaging have more specific details like the capacity and actual weights and speeds. I understand that this costs more; I would be just as happy if all of that information was included on a piece of paper inside. Speaking of inside, Super Talent also included a keychain attachment to go along with the drive to help you not lose it.
Installation
Installing a USB flash drive is as simple as plugging it into any USB port (USB 2.0 if possible). I did find the drive a little hard to push in at times, I do not know if it is thicker than other USB devices or what. After time this seemed to clear up somewhat. Also because the PICO doesn't have a metal frame around the plug it is possible that you can plug it in upside down if you don't pay attention to how you plug it in. This will not do any damage, but will not work.
Performance
Testing the performance of the PICO has two parts too it. How does it perform in file transfers, and the ease of use. To test the file transfers I decided to try out software made by the people who made HDtach that I use to test hard drives. The software is called Flash Memory Toolkit, and can be found HERE. I tested the PICO against two other flash drives, I unfortunately don't have another 16 gig drive to do a direct comparison. The test drives where a 2Gb Super Talent Godfather drive that was given to me at CES and a 2Gb Kingston DataTraveler. The numbers showed the PICO outshining both of the other drives considerably on the read speeds but did show the PICO having some trouble with the 1Mb write test. In the ease of use department, the PICO was amazing, the small size of the USB drive made it easy to have on my keychain in the pocket without any issues. I was first concerned with the durability of the drive having the connectors exposed, but as long as you don't expose the USB connection to power it shouldn't ever be a problem. The gold plated outer shell is extremely durable also. After weeks in my pocket I did notice that the gold finish is starting to wear off though.
^Super Talent PICO^
^Super Talent Godfather Edition^
^Kingston DataTraveler^
Overall
Honestly, Super Talent has products a USB drive that holds a full 16 Gigs of data in a package that is smaller than two dimes put together. What are you waiting for, go get one! The PICO outperformed the other USB drives in our test, but really shines with to portability and ease of use. If you own a PICO you have no excuse too not have it on you at all times (even under water, yes it is waterproof!). The kicker is all of that can be had for under $40 bucks online.
