Sony MicroVault Tiny

The "Tiny" in the MicroVault's name isn't simply hopeful marketing speak. Stack two credit cards on top of one another and the MicroVault is almost precisely as high. And, at just 29mm deep and 14mm wide, the translucent MicroVault is easily small enough to carry - or lose - just about anywhere: you just stick it into a USB port. With a capacity of 1GB, our tests revealed write speeds of 40Mb/sec for reading and 88Mb/sec for writing. Neither is particularly impressive for a flash-based device, but convenience and portability are the orders of the day here, and for day-to-day file storage and transportation it's a useful tool. A rubberised pouch is included for safer storage in a pocket or bag, but it's robust enough to survive being dropped on the floor. It's reasonable value for money for the capacity, although the size borders on the impractical.

Author: Dave Stevenson