LaCie iamaKey 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive 130870
by Lacie
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List Price: Our Price: $22.95 You Save: $19.04 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of LaCie iamaKey 8 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive 130870
Customer Review: Awesome quality and function
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always been a fan of small storage devices. For a while, I was using one of those micro sdhc card readers with an 8 gb micro sd card as my usb flash drive. As many of you have probably learned, most of those card readers do not last very long. I would not trust one on a key ring, so I carried it separately. After having to redo an assignment that I had saved on my flash drive that was left at home, I needed a better solution.
When I came across the LaCie usb drives, I was impressed. I love the design. Although the price was steep, I went ahead with the purchase. The drive is very durable. I lost the tiny plastic cap within a week or two but have not missed it at all. I keep the LaCie on my car key ring so that it is always with me. It is always recognized quickly by my mac and pc's. Transfer rates seem to be just as high as any other usb drives I have used. All in all, I believe it was worth every penny. It has been at least 6 months now and has held up better than expected.
The price has dropped a bit since I bought mine and I am thinking about picking up another one. My classmates at school have commented on it constantly. 'Where did you get that?!?' 'Is that really a flash drive?' and my favorite: 'That is the coolest flash drive I have ever seen.' If I was rich, I would buy a dozen and hand them out to my friends. Think I may go with the rounded top one next, so I can tell them apart easily.
Customer Review: Well, this love affair was short lived...
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this USB because I liked the design and liked the idea of putting it on a key chain. Well, like probably every other user who's ever bought this, I lost the tiny clear protector within the first week. With nothing to protect it I kept it on a separate key chain and in pockets by itself to keep it from getting scratched and it served me well for several months. However, I'm realizing now that a major flaw when compared to other memory sticks is the unreinforced usb connector. I knocked the top of this key while it was stuck in my computer and it bent easily, and my computer stopped recognizing it and now I can't access any of my data. I tried to contact La Cie customer support, but first they make you register with name, address, phone number, and email address (all required) on their website before they will even give you the phone number to call and THEN they want to charge you $15 just to talk to tech support. The cust service rep I talked to said I would probably need to enlist their data recovery services and wanted to transfer me to Tech Support, but I didn't see the point in paying $15 to be told how much data recovery was going to cost me. HORRIBLE customer service. It's easy to like this key in the beginning but if your data is important to you I would get something sturdier.Customer Review: Great product, semi-great customer support (It's easy to find the serial number without the box).
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this thing in February of 2010 (I have the old model but they're visually and functionally identical). The transfer speeds and overall responsiveness of the unit seemed to take a nose dive over the past few weeks.
Imagine my distress when I was asked for the serial number during support conversations (Which took about 4 days total to get an RMA), being told that it was on the original box. WHY WOULD I HAVE THE ORIGINAL BOX?
Thankfully, it's easy to plug the device in and find the serial number of the unit by either using System Profiler on a Mac (Look under the USB menu) or Device Manager on Windows to get more info on the device.
Unfortunately, that's assuming the device will still at least show up in those programs. If the unit is completely dead (And not just slow as a dog like mine was), then just plead your case with LaCie. Their people will take care of you, as they have me several times in the past. These USB keys are all less than a year old total, so they all are under warranty.
Overall, I'd say it's a great purchase, even if you have to keep some stupid box it comes with to save your sanity. At least write the serial number down or record it in Evernote or SOMETHING.
Customer Review: Best flash drive I have ever owned!
Summary: 5 Stars
I really love this thing!
I have had a flash drive in my pocket for the last 4 or 5 years now. I need them for work mainly, but I always carry one. Needless to say, I've been through quite a few!
I was getting sick of cheaply made, plastic, easily breakable, flash drives and actually set out to find a rugged/long-lasting flash drive.
I saw a lot of very expensive ($60-$100) ones out there. This one caught my eye. I needed one that you could actually put on a key ring, let alone a set of keys! This one is very durable! Well worth the price! It's the best price VS durability out there!
One extra bonus is you always know which way to plug in the drive. You know this has happened to you!, trying to plug into USB and it doesn't fit!? Because almost all USB sticks have the traditional box like shield opposite the contacts. So you have to look and see which side the contacts are on. With the key you can see the orientation before you plug in to a port!
Oh and they give you this clear plastic clip-on tip cover, to keep the contacts safe, You'll probably loose that pretty fast unfortunately. Just doesn't stay on well enough, especially on a keychain!
Customer Review: Great low key (pun intended) flash drive!
Summary: 1 Stars
Pros
Looks great, feels great. Very inconspicuous, everyone I've shown it to immediately asks where I got it from. I would definitely buy it again.
Cons
Plastic tip that protects the contacts falls off easily, but the contacts seem to be holding up just fine.
Transfers are a little slow.
Edit - 01/06/2010
I would NOT buy this product again. My brother and I have both purchased this and carried it on our keychains. Today I find out that NEITHER flash drive will mount/be recognized by any of our computers, I've tested it on 7-8 different computers and none of them recognize it. Apparently to use the warranty you need the serial number, which is located on.....dun dun dun........THE PACKAGING OF THE THE PRODUCT (flash drive) ITSELF.........so unless you were smart enough to save the packaging, the warranty is useless.
The gold connectors are slightly scratched since the plastic tips were lost (after a couple days) but they don't look any different from when the keys used to work.
Waste of money, fortunately I have backups on other drives but not worth the headache of rebuying this flash drive.