Software & Features

This tiny drive does come with at least some basic recovery and security features, all of which will at least offer some level of data protection. 

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The main format utility will first allow you to define a security partition on the drive itself for those who wish to store confidential data you don't want most to see. 

You can set your own password to access the security partition you have defined.  Note though that the manual incorrectly states the password can have a max of four characters.  It is actually eight characters max with an optional hint if you prefer.  Configuration menu will basically allow you to define the formatting options. 

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Finally, there's one app that does not actually come with the product itself.  It is just a simple disk recovery tool that can be downloaded from their website.  Should you lose complete access to the drive for any reason, this tool will allow you to recover and regain access to it.

Performance

Now, I will honestly say that I went into testing with somewhat low expectations because when it comes to flash drives, my findings are that you tend to sacrifice performance for size.  To my dismay, this little flash drive impressed quite a bit, particularly when compared to other drives in its class.  In fact, after taking a look at most of the results, I decided to provide you all with not only a comparison against what is considered the smallest drive, but also results on what is considered one of (if not) the fastest.  With that said, mostly all performance tests will include both the Intelligent Stick 2.0 and the excellent Corsair Voyager GT 8GB. 

InnoDisk Flash Card 8GB Performance - SANDRA XI

I always like to start off with Sandra's Removable Storage Benchmark.  While the most common a majority will turn to for comparison, I find many still don't have a clear understanding on the results it provides and how it functions in general.  The Combined Index it will provide you with is based on standard file operations typical with these storage devices.  This consists of writing to the drive, reading from it and then finally deleting it from the flash drive itself.  The results, based on a set number of file sizes, will give you the Combined Index, all based on operations per minute.

In our SANDRA tests, we can see that the InnoDisk Flash Card 8GB offers much higher performance over the Intelligent Stick 2.0.  However, as expected, it is no match for the speedy Voyager GT from Corsair.

InnoDisk Flash Card 8GB Performance - HD Tune

The next set of tests I like to perform are with HD Tune.  For those unfamiliar with this small yet practical utility, it is a tool primarily designed to measure hard disk performance.  However, you can use it with removable storage devices as well to get a better indication as to how the drive performs.  What's nice about this tool is that it is similar to Nero's CD-DVD Speed in the sense that it will provide you with a clear look at how the disk "behaves" during the entire testing process.

The results here were actually misleading.  In fact, I ran them several times on different test systems to confirm all results.  While the InnoDisk Flash Card does indeed perform significantly better than the Intelligent Stick 2.0, it was certainly not at the same level as the Voyager GT, despite these results.  With that said, I decided to also post the actual scans so you can have an idea of how each performed...

InnoDisk Flash Card 8GB - View Scan

Intelligent Stick 2.0 - View Scan

Voyager GT 8GB - View Scan

You'll see that unlike the other two drives, the tiny Intelligent Stick 2.0 provides consistent transfer speeds of 7.4 from beginning to end.  However, it will simply not budge past this point. 

InnoDisk Flash Card 8GB Performance - Actual Performance

As I like to do with these products, I deviate from synthetic benchmarks and like to provide actual performance results so that most will have a much clearer idea at what you can actually expect in terms of overall speed.  These tests are always done with the excellent DiskBench Utility.   Once again, for those who are unfamiliar with this application, DiskBench is a utility designed to measure real life transfer rates. Unlike synthetic benchmark utilities, this application will allow you to create an image file of a user specified size and allow you to transfer to and from the device you are testing in order to capture real-time read/write transfer rates and times.  Other than running these tests on your own, it is simply the most accurate tool to capture reliable read/write times of any storage product. 

Let's have a look at the write times (in seconds) using a number of files I created ranging from 50MB - 1GB.

Now, I threw in the Voyager GT 8GB only to emphasize that unlike the results using HDTune, this drive is clearly in a whole other level in terms of performance.  However, the InnoDisk Flash Card 8GB does actually perform quite well for a drive of its size.  In fact, it is the fastest drive when compared to all other flash drives of similar size.

Next: Conclusions