Bridging The Flash Format Gap With Multi-Format Readers/ Writers

PQI - 6-In-1 Travel Flash Multi-Function Flash Drive - USB 1.1

The PQI 6-In-1 Travel Flash is available from several sources in clone versions.

PQI has been active in the flash reader/ writer market for some time. The Travel Flash is their standard 6-In-1 portable device. PQI designed the Travel Flash, and is the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for other versions of this product that you may see. While much of the technology in this product can be found in similar products of this type, PQI is clearly one of the leaders, although consumers may not recognize their name in this market space. Although it might be a tad more difficult to find the PQI branded product, other similar Travel Flash looking units should perform the same.

The Travel Flash offers a very compact design. While not as small as the Imation FlashGO!, the smallest unit that we reviewed, the Travel Flash isn't much bigger than two CompactFlash modules sitting side by side. The Travel Flash is housed in a sliver plastic casing, and includes a protective leather sleeve for when the unit is not in use.

A close-up look at the PQI Travel Flash. As you can see in this picture, it isn't much bigger than two CompactFlash cards sitting side by side.

The Travel Flash is light and compact, and is clearly targeted at mobile users and/or users who need to use the unit on more than one system. The Travel Flash supports all of the major formats. We liked its compact design, and found it light, small, and easy to stuff into a laptop bag.

The Travel Flash connects to the USB port using a short USB cable that stores nicely in the back of the unit to keep it out of the way when the unit is not in use. PQI also includes a USB extension cable for use with the Travel Flash (when you need to connect the Travel Flash to the back of a computer, as an example) when the small built-in cable is too inconvenient.

Once connected to the computer, the Travel Flash appears as three drives in the device manager, one for each of the slots on the unit. This is fairly similar to the other devices that we tested. Upon connecting the unit to our Windows XP test system, the device was recognized and ready for use. The Travel Flash offers compatibility with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and also Mac.

We liked the design, performance, and price of the Travel Flash. With a suggested retail price of $29.00 US, it was the lowest priced 6-In-1 unit that we tested. The Travel Flash appears solid and is very portable, making it an excellent choice for the on-the-go mobile user.