Final Thoughts

When it comes to digital data, security of your information has become not just a luxury, but in many cases a necessity. A-DATA is one of only a few companies currently offering this type of security-driven data protection, but I can only imagine that the field will soon blossom with others who think they have a better product. That said, I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat impressed with the reliability of this drive.

The scanning technology used is crude by professional standards, but its goal is not court-tested security either. It did prove reliable enough to keep others out of my data storage area, though, and that is the purpose of the device. It managed to allow me access and kept others out, so mission accomplished from this front.

There was a performance hit likely due to the background processes running associated with this drive, but the data was still transferred reliably without corruption. If performance is your primary concern, then you may be a little disappointed with this device. If security is a more important aspect, you should be well served with the A-DATA Biometric device.

As far as price is concerned, the 512MB model tested today can be found for under US$25. The 2GB models can be found online for under US$45, so price is right on par for any normal USB thumb drive of its respective size. Given the added security built into the device, this makes for a good deal if you have been looking for a means to keep your private data private.

Bottom line... For those who have been looking for some way to secure their personal and private digital information, make sure to check out the A-DATA line of biometric devices. They come in varying sizes to handle your needs and the fingerprint authentication actually works. Add to this the cost factor being the same as an unsecured device and it looks better all the time. Yes, data transfer performance will suffer a bit, but not so much as to make the drive unusable.

- Pros

Working fingerprint authentication

Backup password access

Cool factor

Cost

- Cons

Performance hit, particularly for data from drive to system

Six running processes when connected

Rating - 9 out of 10 and TweakTown's "MUST HAVE" Best Value Award!