Kingston introduced the DataTraveler microDuo, its first USB OTG Pendrive for Android smartphones in March. It went on sale in India last month and comes in 8GB to 64GB variants. Unlike the standard pen drives, this has a built-in micro USB slot to connect it to Android smartphones or tablets with USB OTG (On-The-Go) support. This would be more useful for users with smartphones that has limited memory and lacks a microSD card slot such as Moto G. Is the device worth the price? Let us find out.
Design and Build
This tiny device has brushed aluminium build that gives it a premium look. It has a small lanyard hole that lets you attach it to keychains so that it doesn’t get lost. Since the slot it too small and placed awkwardly near the cap , it might not suitable for larger keychains and might be a disturbance when using it. It also has a protective flap that covers the micro USB slot from getting damaged when not using it. Since it has a metal build, it gets heated easily.
The rotating plastic flap is strong and doesn’t come off easily even after repeated usage. Since it is very compact and has lightweight build, it is easy to take it anywhere. Overall the OTG pendrive has excellent build quality.
On the other side, it has a USB 2.0 slot to connect it to PCs, Laptops or a Mac so that you can eliminate the need for a USB cable to transfer data to and from a smartphone or a tablet.
Performance
We have the 32GB variant here. You get 29.28 GB of free space. It is a plug-and-play device, but you need a file manager to access the contents of the drive after it’s connected. You can watch videos and play music directly from the drive when connected to a smartphone or a tablet without copying them to the device. It is always safe to remove the drive after unmounting the device from the storage settings.
Read Write speed test using CrystalDiskMark
We tested the speed of the pendrive on a PC using CrystalDiskMark. It achieved a sequential read speed of 26.87 MBps and a sequential write speed of MBps. This definitely good and is similar to most USB 2.0 drives. Wish it had USB 3.0 support, since it takes hours to transfer huge files from the PC to the drive.
Read Speed measured using HDTach
In HDTach, the Read speed hovered around 26.3 MBps.
Read Write speed using SD Tools
The Read speeds were around 16.7 MB/s and the Write speeds were around 19.9 MB/s when measured with the SDTools app for Android. This might vary based on several conditions. Compared to the Class 10 microSD card, this is pretty good.
Conclusion
Overall, the Kingston microDuo USB OTG drive is definitely a must have accessory for smartphone or tablet users without SD card support. Even though it support most Android devices with USB OTG support, running Android 4.0 or later, it might not work on some devices, you can better check the list of compatible devices on the official website or check it from the store before getting one. The device also comes with a five-year warranty from Kingston. At a market price of about Rs. 785 for the 16GB variant and about Rs. 1425 for the 32GB variant, this is definitely worth the price and is a bit cheaper than some of its competitors.