Key Post: Memory Sticks

Re: Marx

Great stuff - thanks for updating us. I might take the plunge now myself...

Re: re: memory sticks

Interesting to note, though, that the delivery address I gave is different to the billing address (i.e. address on my Visa) and there didn't appear to be any problem.

Click to expand...

As far as I know, it's not really possible for credit card merchants in Europe to check addresses before they ship goods. In the US, merchants do a city/state/zip code check on the shipment address, and the credit card company will confirm or deny this.

So while many eCommerce sites will warn you that the shipment address must match the billing address, they really can't verify this before they ship.

Re: Marx

As far as I know, it's not really possible for credit card merchants in Europe to check addresses before they ship goods.

Not sure about that. I once had an order from a UK site rejected because the name/billing address on the card/account did not match exactly what was entered into the web form - e.g. "St." used on one and "Street" on the other! Once the details were respecified exactly as on the card/account the order was processed OK. I got the impression from the report back that the check was done manually (e.g. via a phone call to the card company or CC processing centre) and not electronically/automatically.

Re: re: memory sticks

It is certainly possible to do such a check manually, but I'd have thought that this would be logistically difficult/impractical, except maybe in high-value/low-volume businesses. Just out of interest, was this order for a very high-value item?

The real problem is the lack of consistency in address/postcode formats across Europe.

Re: Marx

Just out of interest, was this order for a very high-value item?

It was an order from Mesh Computers Plc admittedly worth a total of c IR£4,000.

Re: re: memory sticks

Ordered a 128MB USB007 myself for US€38 all in today. Hopefully it arrives OK and the CC transaction goes through while the € is strong relative to the US$!

Re: Marx

Just thought I'd let you know that I eventually got my grubby hands on the package yesterday. Very minimal packaging at that. Bubble wrap in a padded envelope. That's the way it should be if you ask me. Just plugged it in (on XP) and works like a charm.

Gem. Thanks to Iano for finding that company.

USB performance

transfer speeds for USB 1.1 pendrives is typically somewhere between 600kBs and 900kBs.
Maximum transfer speed on USB 1.1 bus is 1.2MBps but this is seldom achieved.

Transfer time to fill a 512MB pendrive would be somewhere around 10 minutes which is a long time.

USB 2.0 devices would be much much faster.

A Happy Customer!

Ordered my 128Mb memory stick from USB007 last week and got it on Wednesday. Well, it actually arrived at my house on Tuesday, but because it is sent by registered mail and no-one was in the house I had to collect it from the local sorting office - not a problem. In fact, quite comforting that it is sent by registered mail to ensure that it gets to me!

God, it is sooooo much smaller than I expected. I was expecting something the size of a highlighter pen, but it is actually only about the size of a small keyring.

Installed it yesterday and it works very well. Speed of writing, reading and deleting is just as fast as my PC. A super product and ideal for temporary storage of files, transferring files from one PC/laptop to another, or for storing content-rich media files. It amazed me that something so small could store so much.

Total cost to me = €41. That included the stick, an extension lead (very useful if your USB port is not easily accessible) and the registered delivery - great value, especially when compared with Irish shops or other local/European websites. Due to the cost, it is probably not ideal for permanent storage - CD-Rs are much cheaper, and can store more....but you first have to buy the CD writer.

Any negatives...? One very small one: it does not come with a driver disk (driver needed for Windows 98/98SE; not necessary for XP). BUT this is NOT a showstopper 'cos you can download the necessary driver (2Mb file) from USB007's website. BTW, doesn't work with Windows 95.

Great product, great value - www.usb007.com recommended!

007

Iano,

How long does it take to move an album worth of mp3s? Lets say that each song is 5MB and there are 12 songs...60MB.
This is the main reason that I'm thinking of waiting for the USB 2.0 devices to arrive at Komplett.

Re: Memory Sticks

Stop! You're getting me all excited now at the prospect of mine arriving! :lol

Download speed

"How long does it take to move an album worth of mp3s? Lets say that each song is 5MB and there are 12 songs...60MB."


Hmmm....

I downloaded some files to test it last night and, if I remember correctly, it took less than two minutes to download about 30MB to the stick. So your album transfer shouldn't take more than 3-4 mins. Is that fast enough for ya?

speed

So your album transfer shouldn't take more than 3-4 mins. Is that fast enough for ya?

Being honest...No, not if I can get it down to a few seconds. That's just me though. I have to admit that the 007 device seems like great value.

Re: speed

Chances are the FLASH device itself (access and or block/chip erase/(re)write time) could be the bottleneck rather than the USB bandwidth.* These pen drives are not really designed for continuous use but rather for period backup and portability. Anyway, I don't care and am still all excited at the prospect of taking delivery of mine! :lol

* I wonder if the USB2 versions of these devices actually use faster FLASH chips!?!?

Re: Memory Sticks

Received my USB007 128MB pendrive last Thursday. Wasn't in when the registered post package arrived so picked it up from the local sorting office. It actually arrived faster than tickets I ordered from Dublin Bus via Ticketmaster at the same time. Total cost €33 (fortuituously at a good US$/€ exchange rate!).

Re: Memory Sticks

In Japan , new memory sticks up to 1GB
sell for approx 84000yen(600 euro approx)

they also have 256 Memory Stick which has
a switch 1/2 for each 128MB

Enjoyed the price when I consider the Digital cameras
are only around 50000yen

Re: Memory Sticks

In Japan , new memory sticks up to 1GB
sell for approx 84000yen(600 euro approx)

they also have 256 Memory Stick which has
a switch 1/2 for each 128MB

Not sure if you're talking about other formats (e.g. SmartDigital or CompactFlash devices) but www.usb007.com still beat those prices for USB FLASH pen drives specifically. They also have [broken link removed] devices which can be adapted for use in USB and other ports using an appropriate adaptor.

Re: Memory Sticks

I don't know anything about digital camera storage (CompactFlash, SmartMedia etc. or whatever they're called). The USB007 devices are purely computer storage devices. However it looks like the IntelligentStick devices may be adaptable to cameras etc with the right adapter (not sure if USB007 or somebody else sells these). USB007 also have a separate offsite link on their site for digital camera storage etc.

Re: Memory Sticks

I can't see this mentioned anywhere on usb007.com but are these memory sticks compatible with digital cameras? Not all cameras obviously but is it a common feature on new cameras?

Also is it worth it as far as memory for cameras go or would it better to get a camera and some compact flash memory?

Thanks

Dave

Re: Memory Sticks

In case anybody is interested, Maplin currently have on special offer for €85. A bit cheap and cheerful and low capacity for an MP3 player but might suit some people.