Kingston DataTraveler microDuo 3C USB 3.1 Type-C Flash Drive Review

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It has been awhile since we have seen any storage solutions from Kingston, so it was a surprise when we were contacted with information on their latest flash solution, the DataTraveler microDuo 3C.

The microDuo is an interesting take on the standard flash drive. With this solution, Kingston has taken both Type-A and Type-C connectors and thrown them together on a single drive where typically we see these "duos" only for Android or iOS compatibility. Marketing numbers for the 3C has it capable of 100 MB/s read and 15MB/s write, while capacity options range from 16GB to 64GB. Operating system compatibility extends to Windows 7+ and OS X 10.8+.

MSRP of the Kingston DT microDuo 3C is listed at $26.99 with a five-year warranty.

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Packaging for the Kingston has the drive secured in clear plastic, while the capacity is listed in bold print above it.

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Looking at the drive, you can see it is a small form factor solution or Pico drive, but does house a clear protective shell for the Type-C connection.

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In the previous photo, we have a look at the Type-C connection or the future of portable storage.

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Testing the microDuo, we came up with some rather decent numbers when we take into account marketing performance. The DT microDuo 3C brought in 121 MB/s read and 23 MB/s write.

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Looking at the 3C from a price/performance perspective, it didn't fair too well. As you can see from the image above, it landed towards the bottom at 72%.

The Kingston DT microDuo is a unique take on a Pico form factor drive in that, like I said above, we have Type-A and Type-C in one solution. For most of us, Type-A will continue to be the connector of choice, while for portability Type-C could see devices shrink even more than ever before, so it's nice to see a drive that has the best of both worlds. Build quality of the flash drive is quite good, as the metal casing gives off a good feel to the drive and the small plastic cover for the Type-C port seems to be held on just fine.

Performance, if we look at it from a portability perspective, may be the quickest Pico drive we have tested. In sequential read and write, we managed to top marketing by 21 MB/s read and 8 MB/s write with our 32GB sample, and while price/performance didn't fair too well, Kingston is on the right track being one of the first vendors to release a Type-C USB 3.1 solution.

Overall, the Kingston microDuo 3C is a one of kind flash drive at this point and for users that purchased the new MacBook earlier this year, you finally have a flash drive that will work quite well with it.

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