Best 128 GB USB Flash Drive Reviews

Over the last ten years, USB flash drives have dramatically altered the way we store and transport important information. Starting with the first 8 MB commercial drives from IBM in 2000, it has been an arduous journey all the way to the mammoth 128 GB keys available today from many leading companies.

There has been a lot of flash drives advertised for sale on eBay, seen in the Amazon Marketplace, and in Google ads of many Chinese sites. In fact, during 2008 several well-known companies released 64 GB USB flash drives and they continued to be the largest available till middle of 2009. But lately many front line manufacturers have added 128GB drives to their products. Let us make a honest attempt to see which makes are the most reliable and wise to buy.

The Corsair Flash Voyager family of USB drives is indeed sturdy, stylish and compact. More than all things else, the Corsair Flash USB drives are reliable for transporting MP3s, digital images, presentations and a lot more. Flash Voyager USB drives are simple Plug and Play with most operating systems and are also backward compatible with USB 1.1. The Sequential Read: 32.6 MB/s and Sequential Write: 28.8 MB/s are formidable and the speed is comparable to many portable harddrives and is more than 2.5 times faster when compared with other high-capacity USB flash drives in the market.

The Corsair USB Flash Drives, with capacities from 4GB to a large 128GB, offer a hassle-free way to carry your data with you, wherever you go. Corsair USB drives are designed to provide foolproof protection for your data, with features like solid-state electronics, water-resistant or water-proof housings, and even 256-bit encryption and access control. All Corsair Flash USB solutions are compatible with the latest Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System and carry a ten year warranty.

Kingston have brought out their their Data Traveler USB drives, the 200 series which includes 128GB USB Flash drive. The drive is password-protected and the other features are read/write speeds of up to 20MB/sec and 10MB/sec. The password protection is by means of Password Traveler software, which enables user to create and access a password-protected, secure area of the drive called a “Privacy Zone.” The Data Traveler works with Windows ReadyBoost. Like other Kingston USB flash drives, it is plug and play.

The Kingston DataTraveler 200, in a sleek, durable body, features a capless design to protect the USB connector when not in use and is enhanced for Windows ReadyBoost. It is available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities and carries five-year warranty. The biggest advantage is the DataTraveler 200 is backed by Kingston brand image plus a five-year warranty and 24/7 tech support. There are no negative user reviews except for the pricing. But because a large numbers of fake 128GB USB flash drives are today available, both from China and on eBay, it is critical to understand and buy the authentic Kingston USB flash drives.

The Patriot 128GB drive is in their Extreme magnum series with a read speed of 31MB/s, and a write speed of 20MB/s. The 128GB Hi Speed 210X USB 2.0 Drive is backward compatible to USB 1.1. It is plug and play in Windows ME/2K/XP/Vista, Mac OS 9.x, OS X and Linux. Another attraction is it has a life-time warranty. It is compact measuring 2.8 x 1.1 x 0.4 inches in size.

The Patriot 128GB drive,housed in a glossy black aluminum body with golden cap, is arguably one of the fastest as well as one of the most compact USB drives in the market. In-house testing reveals the user can stream music and DivX movies directly from the disc. The other major attraction is it offers a 128GB of storage, yet doesn’t need you to plug into a USB cable to plug it in like most hard drive based units. The Patriot 128GB drive, measuring 72mm x 26mm x 6mm and weighing 19.5g, is Microsoft certified and tuned specifically for Vista. If you plug it in, it works right from the start immediately after the operating system registers it. However, any OS will recognize this standard USB device.

The Edge-Tech DiskGo128GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive, measuring 3″ x 0.74″ x 0.4″ and
housed in a durable silver plastic body, comes with Cryparchiver Lite (128-bit AES encryption) for securing 25MB of data. The 32 GB, 64GB, and 128 GB drives come fitted with a write protection switch. It is plug and play and hot swappable, a USB 2.0 drive, but backwards compatible to USB 1.1. Edge-Tech offers a lifetime warranty as well as toll-free technical support.

Though Kingston takes the title of being the first one to announce a 128GB pendrive, catching up within days is the DiskGO’s 128 GB offering. It is not as fast as one would expect but it has a read speed of 13.5 BM/s and write speed of 11 MB/s. Edge Tech has two sizes in the style they are using for the 128GB drive, a 64GB drive, and the 128GB. The 128GB DiskGO! USB 2.0 Flash Drive comes with Write-protection switch and Keychain grommet, is shipped with Cryptarchiver Lite, a limited version of the encryption software which encrypts 20MB of data up to 128AES. EDGE is the only major manufacturer to offer a lifetime warranty on its standard USB flash drive.

Luxio 128GB USB drive from Super Talent are well-designed and have dual channel flash memory architecture with AES-256 hardware Encryption included. Luxio 128GB USB drive comes in plastic body with silver rim and cap and available in silver, black and wood. They support Vista ReadyBoost but the drives come with a limited lifetime warranty. Luxio 128GB USB drive, measuring 76.50 x 21 x 9.50 mm, has good speed, great capacity and comes with an attractive leather carrying case. The small demerit is the cap fits one way, and does not stay on reliably.

The LUXIO drives are housed in an ultra-sleek high impact ABS/PC case sealed with UV-protective coating. As regards data security, LUXIO locks the data down using hardware-based AES-256 bit encryption, possibly the strongest encryption in the market. Users who do not need the encryption software will have a terrible time getting rid of it. If you finally opt for Super Talent drives, make sure to get it through a reputable dealer. As they are in demand, they are among the most frequently counterfeited USB drives found in the market.

Using USB flash drive puts an end to carrying files and papers around, as also the bother of scratched disks. Flash drives - also known as USB keys and thumb drives - are profusely available in the market and everybody' is using them, both for work and for fun. But to help you pick the best one, we have reviewed the top selling five different brands. The ultimate choice will depend largely on which you believe is more important - storage capacity or overall speed.