ΙΝTRODUCTION

   I doubt there's a person out there who has never owned a USB flash drive (some girls i know haven't but you get my point) but lately with Tablets and large smartphones getting for good in our lives things have changed quite a bit. The reason is that conventional/standard USB flash drives can't be easily used (you can always purchase an adapter) with smartphones and tablets so if you happen to own one and you want to use it to its full extend getting one of the latest OTG (On the Go) models is obviously your best way out. Unfortunately until recently most OTG USB flash drives featured USB 2.0 compatible ports which were not ideal for copying large files and that at least to us was a large problem. USB 3.0 compatible OTG USB flash drives are now available however and the first one to land in our hands is the DataTraveler microDuo 3.0 64GB model by our friends over at Kingston.

   Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Taiwan, China and sales representatives in the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand, India, Taiwan, China, and Latin America.

   The original microDuo line of OTG USB flash drives featured a tiny design combined with the usual full size USB connector and a micro USB connector which allowed you for direct connection with smartphones and tablets. Unfortunately however it was only USB 2.0 compatible so if you wanted to transfer a large amount of data onto it from your primary system you'd have to wait quite a while for that to happen. Well since to my knowledge most if not all smartphones and tablets don't support USB 3.0 (Microsoft Surface Pro/2/3 and Dell Venue 11 Pro excluded) it does make some sense that manufacturers didn't want to go there from the get go. Still just because an OTG USB flash drive is designed for use with smartphones and tablets that shouldn't mean you can't use it as a regular USB flash drive and that's why adding USB 3.0 compatibility was only a matter of time.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Kingston has once again used their clear plastic clamshell package from where you can take a look at the drive from the front.

The OS compatibility list and a quick description of the product are printed at the rear.

The microDuo 3.0 OTG 64GB Flash drive is bundled with a small lanyard.

THE MICRODUO 3.0 64GB

Just like its predecessor the microDuo 3.0 model features the same tiny housing (27.63mm in length, 16.46mm in width and 8.56mm thick) but instead of a brown cap it comes with a black one.

If you're wondering about the size of the microDuo 3.0 line you can check the above picture which has several other drives (the microDuo 3.0 is 3rd from the top).

At the front/top of the drive Kingston has placed their logo (on the plastic cap), the model name and capacity.

The black cap is used to keep the micro USB connector protected at all times (the company name is also present at the bottom of the cap as you can see above).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Since flash drives are basically plain storage media devices just like solid state drives and hard disk drives we are using almost the same testing methodology to successfully record the achieved performance numbers. The benchmark suites used are HD Tach RW (Read Speeds / Long Bench 32mb Zone Testing), HD Tune Pro (Read speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read / Write speeds), AIDA 64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear Read / Random Read speeds), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB-1000MB Read / Write speeds) and finally ATTO (Max Read / Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average performance numbers are recorded into our charts (0 = we were unable to complete that test).

   All tests are performed with our main rig running Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 complete with every update until February 3rd 2014. As always for comparison purposes in the charts you will also find many other flash drivers which have been tested using the same exact test bench as the one in this review (we really can't keep every flash drive we get forever and also even if we could testing them all again and again would simply not be possible).

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

CONCLUSION

   When we heard that Kingston was going to release a new version of the microDuo line of OTG USB flash drives we more or less knew that ment better read & write speeds but not really something to excite over. Unfortunately the very small size of such flash drives along with the need for a 2nd micro SD connector reduce the available space manufacturers can use so it wasn't really a surprise to see that the microDuo 3.0 64GB OTG USB flash drive fell behind most USB 3.0 compatible models in our charts. However we do need to keep in mind that OTG drives haven't been long in the market and that goes double for USB 3.0 compatible models so we do expect to see even better performance levels in the future. Quality-wise the new microDuo 3.0 line scores high but I’d still prefer a more rugged housing since on one hand the full sized USB connector is exposed at all times while the plastic cap used to protect the micro USB connector is far from what I’d call durable.

   Pricing is perhaps where the DataTraveler microDuo 3.0 64GB OTG USB flash drive by Kingston excels most since currently it currently retails for just USD29.50 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 28Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk). Of course it goes without saying that if you just want a tiny USB 3.0 flash drive and you care not about using it with a smartphone or a tablet then you can find faster and more durable models in the market currently at around the same price point. However if you want a tiny USB 3.0 flash drive for use with your smartphone and/or tablet the DataTraveler microDuo 3.0 64GB OTG USB flash drive by Kington is amongst your best choices as we speak which is also why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Size & Weight
- Performance Levels
- Design
- Dual Connectors (USB & Micro USB)
- 5 Years Warranty
- Price (For Some) 

CONS

- Would Like A More Rugged Housing