This unit is great. I purchased it to replace a 64mb unit that wasn't big enough any more. I also wanted to learn to do new things with these thumb drives. It is very fast and after a lot of usage, I have had no read write issues. I have been able to load a DMG on it and boot my mac and install Leopard from it. I have also been able to use it to boot and configure quite a few different laptops using the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows project. I have learned that 2GB units work better for that project, but that in no way reflects upon my review of this product. It works seamlessly in my Macs, windows, and linux boxes. There is a green read/write indicator light that signals under the HP logo. It is pleasant and not too bright and annoying or dim. The cover for the tip connects to the back of the unit for storage while in use. It seems slightly faster than using an external usb hard drive. It seems to make full use of the usb 2.0 bandwidth. I didn't want to go cheap and I didn't want to go expensive - this unit seems to hit the middle of the road quite well. HP v125w 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive P-FD16GHP125-EF
I bought this flash because of the HP name and the reviews that touted the speed of the drive. I found the drive to be slow, too slow for me. I needed to move 10GB of photos from my harddrive to the HP and it took 1 hour and 8 minutes! I used Check Flash 1.09 which scopes the speed of Flash Drives and this drive came in at 4.6mbs write and 12.3mbs read. Another source you might want to check out is on the web -- xbitlabs (search 32GB USB Flash Drives), they tested flash drive's speed. So, when you consider that for $5 more you can get the fast OCZ Rally2 16 GB (which I ended up doing) you may concur that there are better drives out there for the money. Hope this helps you in your choice.
This is a great product and here's why:
Small-it's smaller than most of these types of (see review title)
Metal case-doesn't seem as crushable as plastic ones
Cap-I don't like the ones where to contact point just slides in, if I put it in my pocket it may get lint in it, if I drop it in the dirt, dirt with get into it, if I drop it in the mud, mud will get into it, if I slip liquid one the table and on and on.
THE CAP FITS ON THE TAIL END FOR STORAGE!! - is there a conspiracy out there to make us lose caps and buy new ones by most makers of these (see review title)? Almost none of them have a place to put the cap when you're using the device, this one does: thank you HP for standing up to the syndicate!
finally,
The is my second one-and I've never had any problems with them, work as expected
The product works as expected, tried it under both OS X and Linux and it worked fine under both. Do not have a Winblows machine to test it with.
Was concerned about performance as many have reported slow speeds with similar products, NOT this one. Under OS X I was able to write at 18MB/sec and read at 35MB/sec. Under Linux the write speed was a still impresive 10MB/sec (not sure why it was less) and the read speed was 31MB/sec. The test was a group of large files (50-400MB in size).
I also liked the small size and professional look of the drive. I was able to easily put it into the USB port on the back of the PC between two other USB plugs a feat not easily possible with other (fatter) drives).
Only complaint is the clear colored cap, very easy to loose for obvious reasons.
This product is great! For all those people that said it is slow, I agree to that if you do not format it when you recieve it. It comes already formatted with a FAT32 partition that only reads and writes around 2-3 megabytes per second. However, if you format it with NTFS partition, I am writing to it on an average of about 20 MBS and reading at double that speed. Its a great little product and I have a full windows running off of it wherever I go! I love HP!
I bought v125w based on its low cost ($20 AR at local store), and became dismayed over its slow transfer speed. For quick comparison, I had it benchmarked against my other USB flashdrives including 8GB Patriot Xporter XT, 1GB Sandisk Cruzer Mini, and 2GB generic. The average transfer rate as tested by HD Tune 2.54 was 13.2 MB/sec for HP, followed by 30 MB/sec, 18.1 MB/sec, and 22.5 MB/sec, respectively. All were formatted to FAT32.
The test speaks loudly for the performance or lack of on the HP. As long as you are not critical about transfer rate, this inexpensive device does provide ample storage space.
Updated (12/13/09): Just purchased 16Gb Patriot Xporter Dash as the replacement for HP. It had an average transfer rate of 28.1 MB/sec. The difference is staggering, so be sure to test out the speed against your other USB flashdrives if you do purchase the HP.
Bought (2) of these from Staples, they were having a "sale" of $20. Opened one, it was DOA. Being that i still desperately needed a flash drive that night, I opened the other (this time with a razor blade so that i wouldn't destroy the packaging) and it was also DOA. Tried both drives on 3 different computers (windows and mac). Went back to staples, and it wouldn't even work on their computers. They let me have a full refund. But please don't waste your time, patience, money, and shipping on this item. HP can't make a reliable flash drive to save their lives and this has been well documented on both consumer and professional review sites.
in short, AVOID at all costs.
I got this flash drive when Microsoft announced they would start allowing users to use USB flash drives for storage on their XBox360 console. For those who are wondering, this drive meets Microsoft's performance specifications and it sells for about 1/2 the price of the Microsoft-branded drives from SanDisk.
The HP 125w 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive is an excellent product. I like several features of this flash drive.
First, the cap fits on the tail end. Being rather forgetful, I misplace caps. Without a cap the connection can collect foreign matter and decrease the quality of the connection to a computer.
This nice clear cap fits comfortably on the rear end of the drive, which solves my problem.
Second, the case is well constructed. Some of the other flash drives I have seen look very fragile, this HP drive is sturdy.
Third, this drive seems faster than others that I have owned. I transfers files twice as fast as the first flash drive I used, and about twenty percent faster than my HP 100w.
Fourth, a light turns on when it is working, and does not stop until the work is finished. This helps me monitor my work and ensure its completion.
This flash drive is the best I have used. I highly recommend this merchandise. - 16 Gb Flash Drive - Flash Drive - Hp - 16gb'
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