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| Apacer Handy Steno AH421 4GB USB Flash Drive Review |
| Page 2 - Performance/Conclusion |
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The AH421 is the latest product in Apacer’s Handy Steno range of
portable storage devices and has some unique features primarily designed for laptop use, coupled with some very impressive performance.
The AH421 is a very sleek looking device cased in all black glossy plastic which more or less looks like most other USB flash drives on the market, however instead of the USB connector sticking out the end it comes out of the side of the unit at a 90degree angle, so when the unit is plugged into a USB port on a notebook it will sit flush along the side instead of sticking out like a sore thumb like most USB flash drives.
The USB connector can also swivel around 180degrees, so if you plug it in one way and its blocking off another connector port close by, simply swivel it straight up or the opposite direction and problem solved. A small cloth pull-tag is located behind the USB connector for easy removal.
This connector, while convenient for some, makes the device completely impractical for connecting to a desktop PC, it will be more or less impossible for most computers without the aid of some sort of extension cable (which is not included with the AH421). This is because with a USB port that is recessed by even just a couple of mm, the AH421 wouldn’t be able to go in. So they’re not making it easy for people wanting to transfer data between their laptop and home PC.
Another point about the connector, is that because USB ports are often situated in pairs right on top of one another, the AH421 will be blocking off whichever port it’s not plugged into, no matter which way you swivel it around, so while Apacer have quite an innovative design to cater for a specific sector of the market, the design has a couple of rather significant drawbacks.
Performance:
The performance of the drive is excellent, with SiSoft Sandra benchmark reporting a read speed of 23MB/s which is the quickest I’ve seen from a USB Flash Drive, and much quicker than my SanDisk Cruzer Micro 4GB, which comes in at around 17MB/s read speed.
Apacer’s website and specs on the AH421 list a max read speed of 17MB/s and max write speed of 5MB/s. As the SiSoft Sandra test results were way above this mark, we thought we’d do a bit more testing. We conducted a basic test of copying a 700MB file to and from the flash drive on our OzHardware test bench. To copy the file to the AH421 took an average of 97 seconds, and to copy the file back took an average of 29 seconds, this gives a write speed of 7.2MB/s and a read speed of 24.1MB/s, which backs up the SiSoft Sandra results, and are way above Apacer’s claimed figures, which is strange because manufacturers will usually claim as optimistic a figure as they can legally get away with.
This extra speed will make the AH421 a better device than most when used with Windows Vista for its “ReadyBoost” feature, if there’s anyone out there that actually wants to use Vista and thinks ReadyBoost is a worthwhile feature that is.
Conclusion:
The Apacer Handy Steno AH421 is one of the best performing USB flash drives I’ve ever used, however some of the design elements, although interesting and a bit innovative, don’t work too well in the real world unless you’re ONLY going to use the drive on a notebook computer, nor would it be too comfortable to carry in your pocket with the USB connector jutting out the side.
The AH421 comes in 1GB, 2GB and 4GB sizes selling for around AU$39, $46 and $72 respectively, which is about mid-market in terms of price, so it’s OK in terms of value, but not brilliant. The AH421 would be suitable only for people who will use it on a notebook, and don’t need to take the drive between their notebook and desktop PC.
OzHardware Rating – 6/10
This product can be purchased online at www.techbuy.com.au (Direct Link)
