Monday, November 14, 2011

Kingston urDrive: The USB Drive Is Fun Again


Thank you to Kingston for sponsoring this review. Please click here to learn more about Kingston. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions are my own.

Some people call them thumb drives. Or flash drives. Or USB drives. Whatever you call them, they've become a routine way to carry and transfer data in our digital age. Some are designed as cute characters, some come on keychains, and some are built to withstand a beating, but generally all of them have the same purpose: store data to use between devices.

But storing data is generally the limit for most USB drives. They're passive devices, holding the information we need so we can move it to another device, where it can be used by that computer's software. They're really interchangeable to me. I've received so many USB drives from various blog conferences and promotions that I don't even care if I lose one, as long as it didn't have any sensitive data on it. They've become throwaway devices at this point.

However, I recently had the chance to try out the new Kingston 8GB DataTraveler 109 with urDrive software, and I can honestly say the lowly USB drive suddenly has a lot more potential.

The urDrive software makes it possible to carry much of your digital life with you on your USB drive, but also to use that data no matter where you go. Stored on board is an mp3 player, a video player, and a photo viewer for all of your media files. (No need to worry if the computer you're using has the right software or not!)

It also has its own web browser that can save all of your favorite sites and preferences to the cloud, available to you from any computer with your urDrive USB drive. This is incredibly useful for working at public computers where you don't want to leave any of your personal information behind, or for when using a work computer (during lunch, of course) where you can't save any of your favorite sites or preferences.

For kids, the urDrive software also includes Fooz Kids, a kid-safe web browsing application with a parental dashboard to set limits and monitor your child's use of the internet. And for both kids and parents alike, you can access the latest flash games from EA Games and PopCap Games on your USB drive.

Finally, if you're worried about the safety of the computer you're using with your USB drive, you can run a quick scan using the included Norton PC Checkup software.

Additional apps can be downloaded from the urDrive store, allowing you to customize your USB drive to fit your needs.

I often work between several computers, and the Kingston urDrive is a resourceful tool to keep around. I like storing my music on it and having a ready-made playlist wherever I happen to be working. The easy access to PopCap Games is great when I need a short break. And keeping my favorite websites bookmarked on the Maxthon 3 web browser is much easier than trying to save my bookmarks on each computer.

Also? It's smaller than any other USB drive I've ever owned. I mean itty-bitty small - about the length between two knuckles and about as thin as two or three dimes.

Here's a quick video that explains a little more about the Kingston urDrive:




Giveaway!

Want to try the urDrive out for yourself? I'm giving away a 5-pack of Kingston USB drives for one lucky winner - enough for you and your family or friends to try out!

To enter: leave me a comment below telling me how many USB drives you currently own. If you're like me and aren't sure, give your best guess. (I've got an entire jar filled with promotional USB drives, plus one in my purse, two in my laptop bag, and probably one or two hiding in a suitcase.)

One entry per person, US residents only. Be sure to provide a valid email address so I can contact you if you're selected as the winner.

Entries will be accepted until Friday, November 18 at 11:59pm ET. After that date, one will be selected by random drawing and contacted via email. Winner has two days to respond to the email or an alternate winner will be selected.

Good luck!

82 comments:

NGS said...

I have one and my husband has one. I think that's all. I wish I had a whole bowlful, though!
cheatingpiggies at hotmail dot com

Sam Kar said...

thanks for your giveaway.

I have just 1 USB 512Mb given to me by my brother.

I wish to have a entire jar of them, ofcourse..lol

Hope I would be able to win it here.

Thanks, Grr

mitchell said...

I only own 1 and that is it. But it would be nice to get more.

IrishFUTball02 at gmail dot com

debbie said...

I have one, and my son has one.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I have 4, and I cannot log into blogger.

yadgirl (at) chartertn (dot) net

slb3334 said...

I have one.

slb3334@gmail.com

Dan DL said...

I have 2, one at work and one at home supplementing my system memory.

Anonymous said...

I own something like ten or more but don't have a single one. Each and every time I get one for myself one of my 5 children will end up needing to use it and some how they think once they use it it is theirs to fill up, lose or loan to friend.

sandy said...

I about 5 but always carry one with me. You never know when you might need one!

Anonymous said...

I have about 3 usb drives

mar said...

I believe I have three.

LWons@HotMail.com

Anonymous said...

I have one that is full of pictures of my kids and my son has one that he uses for school. Would love to have more around the house as I am constantly taking pictures of my kiddos and want to save those beautiful memories.

peg42 said...

Right now I have 4, but my sons each took one of them for school. The other two are full of photo's and records.
Thanks so much.
rickpeggysmith(at)aol(dot)com

John D said...

I do not have any usb drive. The one I had turned back.

I would like to win the usb here.

Anonymous said...

i don't have any, but i'd like to try one out!rob,rf60527@att.net

Karla said...

I use a 500 GB External Drive in place of a USB Drive, but my husband goes through a LOT of USB drives. He seems to lose them everytime I turn around.

ninamcclain93 said...

i have about 5. I had more, like 10, but I gave them to my mom for her classroom.

ninamcclain93 at gmail dot com

ebkev@wowway.com said...

I have two USB "Thumb Drives" ... They are so handy !!!

Douglas Houston said...

I think maybe six, but there could be more. There like socks, they appear and disappear.

digdougx at comcast.net

abfantom said...

I have two 2GB thumb drives that I use.

abfantom at yahoo dot com

Kathy said...

I have two thumb drives. One in my desk and one loaned out to friend.

Anonymous said...

I have just one.

rhoneygtn at yahoo dot com

rfosterparents@yahoo.com said...

Unfortunately we only have one which we shart between my husband, 3 children any myself. Heaven forbid 2 kids have a project to turn in at the same time!!!

Camden said...

I gots 2!

both for school

camden_skatedc (at) hotmail (dot) com

Peter Dale said...

I think we have 4. 1 for each member of my family.

fullclip said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
fullclip said...

I think I've been thru atleast 5 sandisk/memorex ones. Currently I own only 1 8GB drive. And I'm I will probably be buying a larger one in the new future.


repitright at (hotmail) (.) (com)

howdyyeehaw said...

Great for school

The Sunshyn said...

I think we have 8 or 9
chainmail (at) iwon(dot) com

Pauline MIlner said...

I have 15 USB drives and I actually keep them labeled and stored in a box so I can easily access what I need.

Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity. ~Pauline

dod@rogers.com

Valerie Taylor Mabrey said...

I had one but can not find it. My daughter and son each have one.
vmkids3 at msn dot com

Alasxand said...

I have several all currently in hiding except the one my husband refuses to relinquish. They are so useful and I expect to purchase many many more as my children progress in school.

clc408 said...

I have none. Help me start a collection!

sweepmom said...

As a family, we have 2 maybe 3.

Unknown said...

i have about 10 different usb devices

Anonymous said...

I have three!

stephanie_adkins@yahoo.com

Desmond said...

Just the one.

dwarzel at hotmail.com

Chip said...

A whole bowl full sounds good!! I have 3 and I'm always losing them when I really need one.
chipdip2010(at)hotmail(dot)com

Lisa P. said...

I own 2.
lafittelady at gmail dot com

Deborah said...

We have three USB drives: two for digital frames and one for everything else. asthenight at gmail dot com

Terra said...

I only have one 1GB USB hard drive which isn't big enough to store some of the things I want to put on it. I could use some new ones!

mystik2005 at hotmail dot com

Brittney said...

I think I have about 4.
brittneydejajason at gmail dot com

cpage2323 said...

i have 3.
trixie420247 at yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

i own one, my daughter owns one, and a third we had disappeared, so we could use more!
stigay at aol.com

alsvegas said...

thanks for your giveaway.

I have just 1 USB 2gb i use for picture storage :)

littlelatina said...

One for my sons projects and one for mine. What I need is a handful

edq143 at yahoo dot com

mogrill said...

I only have 2. One at home and one at work.

jennem said...

Only two, which is not enough!
Jennifer, jennem22 at yahoo dot com

Laurie Pearson Photography said...

I own 2 right now. Need more ! :)

pearson.laurie@gmail.com

Kylie Carlson said...

We have 2 small ones and 1 large one that my partner uses for blueprints, these sound great. kcarlson1152@hotmail.com

Mary Calabrese said...

I don't own any USBs. I'm so behind the times.

ighmeg at yahoo dot com

Audrey Storm said...

I just have one.
astorm@ou.edu

Bassoon2 said...

These are great for school assignments!!!!!

Hotsnotty2 said...

We have 2, thanks for he chance

Hotsnotty2@hotmail.com

Bonni said...

Right now we only have one usb drive in our house, but we could really use more. Something to save my kids homework on.

Erica C. said...

I only have one.
ericacarnes(at)gmail(dot)com

hbbs55 said...

I only have one, my husband has a large external hard drive that he uses for our business. I would love to have another as mine is old and does have much space on it. thanks for the chance

hbbs55 at gmail dot com

Hoa said...

I currently have 2 USBs.

alittlepieceofheaven777(at)yahoo(dot)com

KowgirlsRule said...

I only have one USB drive
kowgirlsrule at gmail dot dom

Tammy said...

I own one.

kyl neusch said...

I have 5 currently

Cindy M said...

We only have one- my husband uses it for business files saving.
writer61@yahoo.com

amy said...

i don't have any.

amylovesbeingmom at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

i think i have 3. 2 are really small storage sizes and useless, and i think one of them is actually my dads. oops... he may want that back. ;)

ferriza2(at)yahoo(dot)com

tiffany.hoyt said...

I have one, but need to get some more. :)

tiffany.hoyt@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

2 and need more!!! lol
thanks for the chance
kendraco22 at yahoo dot com

js22 said...

I have three or four! but I can only find two right now! One lives in my purse so I can copy info from my laptop to my desktop!
Thanks for the giveaway!
email in blogger profile.
js22 [at] yahoo [dot] com

sottovoce said...

I have four with a variety of info on each one. :-) Thank you.
jaquerichards at yahoo dot com

susansmoaks said...

i have two or three
susansmoaks at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I'm sure we have at least 4. The kids each have one and hubby has a couple.
jenswps at yahoo . com

Barbarawr said...

How many do I HAVE or how many can I FIND? At the moment, my son has one, my daughter has 2, and there are 3 in my purse.

Wow - I wish I had promotional ones!!

Email address is in blogger profile

rayreadb said...

I have 2 usb drives.

The Real Mom said...

I have 3.
jeanlynd at att dot net

/\Heather/\ said...

I have two and my husband has a few for work hanging around. I could use one for my car (music!).
heatherpooh (hotmail)

Denise Donaldson (MistySunrise) said...

I only have one at the moment. I need more to save family pics on.

itsjustme62613 at gmail.com

ezmerelda said...

I guess we just have one. I need to get more so we can save stuff and leave it in different locations.

ezmerelda at mail dot com

Kim Smith said...

I have 2 ... one for my pictures and one for class papers and essays

Brian E. said...

Thanks for the giveaway...I have three old thumb drives floating around the bottom drawer of my desk.

senorpiero [at] yahoo [dot] com

Sand said...

I own about three.

Breanne said...

I have 2

Donna said...

I have 1.
donna444444@yahoo.com

Julie Donahue said...

I have 5 or 6
juliesweeps at hotmail.com