Hardware Bistro

Product: 4GB Earth Angel USB Drive
Manufacturer:  Kingston
Supplied by: Kingston
Price: 12USD/RM38
Launch Date: July 2011

 

Today we are not going to focus on any new or exciting product but a pretty plain 4GB USB flash drive from Kingston. This Kingston product is Earth Angel USB Drive which is developed in conjunction with Superstar Shu Qi and picture author Jimmy (几米) to inspire awareness and appreciation for the earth's natural environment. Let us spend some time and take a look on this interesting device.

 

Company Profile

Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world's independent memory leader. Founded in 1987 with a single product offering, Kingston® now offers more than 2,000 memory products that support nearly every device that uses memory, from computers, servers and printers to MP3 players, digital cameras and cell phones.

With global headquarters in Fountain Valley, California, Kingston employs more than 4,500 people worldwide. Regarded as one of the "Best Companies to Work for in America" by Fortune magazine, Kingston's tenets of respect, loyalty, flexibility and integrity create an exemplary corporate culture.

Features & Specifications

• Capacity*: 4GB
• Form Factor: 65mm x 42mm x 21mm
• Backwards Compatible: With USB 2.0
• Product Design: USB with lid Strap Hole Available
• Accessories: Hand Knitted Strap
• Warranty: 5 Years
• System Support: Windows 7, Window Vista, Windows XP, Mac OS X v.10.5.x+, Linux v 2.6.x+
• Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage. For more information, please consult Kingston's Flash Memory Guide at kingston.com/Flash_Memory_Guide.

 

Package & Contents

 

Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive is an environment friendly product hence it is packed with recycled paper and environment-friendly printing ink. Five years warranty is given for this USB flash drive which is pretty adequate since USB flash drive does not give much problem unless it is not safely removed from the computer.

A Closer Look on Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive

Biophysical environment is being degraded especially due to global warming lately; Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive is born in June 2011 to inspire the awareness and appreciation for the earth's natural environment in cooperated with the superstar Shu Qi and picture author & illustrator Jimmy (几米) to gain better attention from the market. 

 

Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive is only available in 4GB capacity (P/N: DTEA/4GB) and it is only being sold in APAC region not globally. Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive is made by environmental friendly materials and its net profit will all be donated to World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF); it is Kingston's determination to protect and save our earth. 

 

Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive comes with gentle and cute design of the little earth angle to remind everyone to protect the environment on earth with an angel heart; pretty nice to hold on it and a hand knitted strap is provided too. Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive is a USB 2.0 product and it is supported by varies of operating system.

 

Installation, Testing & Performance

 

Same with other USB flash drives, Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive is a true plug & play device where neither driver nor software setup is required. However due to the earth model of the Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive, it will block out the USB ports that are located next to it; not really a big issue but has to take into consideration if there is USB port limitation of the system.

 

Test Bed

Notebook: HP EliteBook 2540p
Processor: Intel i7-640LM @ 2.13GHz
Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333MHz
Hard Drive: 250GB 7200RPM
Display: 12.1" LED-backlit WXGA anti-glare
Graphic Card: Intel HD Graphics
Optical Drive: Panasonic 9.5mm DVD RAM
Controller: Vizo PCI-102 ExpressCard
Monitor: Dell 22" Wide Screen LCD
Speaker: Edifier R501
Mouse: SteelSeries Ikari Laser
Mouse Pad: SteelSeries QcK+
HeadSet: Arctic Sound P311
Router: TRENDnet TEW-639GR
Operating System: Window XP Pro SP3/Win 7 Pro
Ambient Temperature: 27 Degree Celsius

Basically this Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive is a standard USB 2.0 flash drive where it should not have much performance difference than other USB 2.0 flash drives since the technology is so well established. Anyway we have tested Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive with a popular benchmarking tool; CrystalDiskMark and above is its benchmarking results. Overall Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive does not let us down but also does not surprise us which is pretty expected since this product is meant for awareness to save the earth rather than a super device.

Before we move to conclusion or verdicts, let us spend some time to watch this awesome short video which was created by Jimmy (几米). If you like it please shares it with your friends either in Facebook or other social media tools.

 

Verdicts

If you are looking for a USB flash drive for daily normal usage and capacity is not a main concern then you should really look into the Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive as it is not merely a USB flash drive but also as a commitment to support the society to save our earth; this could be done if everyone of us is taking our responsibility to do our part. Furthermore such welfare product should be supported either keeping it as a souvenir or buying it for others as a gift; 12USD is pretty reasonable and hopefully this product will be sold globally. Looking forward to see other similar products in the market.

 

Pros:

+ An awareness product to save our earth
+ A cute & quality USB flash drive
+ Developed in conjunction with Shu Qi & Jimmy
+ Net profit will be donated to WWF 

Cons:

- Only 4GB capacity is available

 

 

Thanks to Kingston for providing this sample for us to review.

 

 

 

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