Thanks to a dual-channel setup, the Crucial Gizmo is rated at 160X speed, which equals 25 MB/s read performance. Like many other drives, it also comes with security software that allows you to password-protect a special storage area on the memory stick. Crucial offers the drives at 512 MB, 1 GB and 2 GB; they do not have a lanyard hole, so you won't be able to use them as key fobs.

Crucial picked black plastic for the housing, but it actually looks and feels very nice. The USB connector is protected by a plastic cap, which is simple, but many users end up losing it.

The product comes with bundled backup software, but for some reason the amount of data it can handle is limited, unless you purchase this software. While being able to try the solution is nice, we cannot see the value here for the user. This is similar to the 90-day trials of anti-virus software that come bundled with motherboards: if it is restricted in any way, it should not be advertised as a feature.

When this article was posted Crucial informed us that the product will be upgraded by the full version of the software. Check the box carefully if you want to purchase one.

Error: After purchasing the memory stick you will get the notice that you need to purchase the software to use the software fully. However, Crucial is upgrading current products to deliver them only with the full software version.