Other by stefan @ 2011-02-07
The SwissFlash Laser 2GB Pocket Knife with Laser from Victorinox is a product which comes in handy in many activities, and it also incorporates a retractable ball point pen, along with a laser pointer and an USB 2.0 flash drive (with the ability to write protect) to store our important documents on it.
At first I would like to thank AG Comexim and Victorinox for offering me a sample of their SwissFlash Laser 2GB Pocket Knife with Laser.
"The 125 year history of Victorinox is characterized by perseverance and continunal growth. Typical Swiss characteristic set the tone for the corporation's development.
In 1884, the cutler and entrepreneur Karl Elsener opened a cutler’s business in Ibach-Schwyz, which is in Central Switzerland. In the course of its 125-year history, it developed into a global company.
Victorinox was founded at a time when Switzerland was still one of the poorer countries in Europe. Around 1880, many Swiss were unemployed and felt they had no option but to emigrate. In spite of these difficult economic conditions, the cutler Karl Elsener took the initiative and laid the foundations for a thriving company by opening his cutler’s business.
The company founder’s pioneering spirit, honesty and deep roots in the region have accompanied the history of the Victorinox company over the last 125 years and live on in its philosophy and products. Continuity also characterizes the organization: since its founding in 1884, Victorinox has remained a family company and it has stayed independent to this day. The Elsener family, who founded the company, owns 10 percent of the shares. The other 90 percent are owned by Victorinox’s foundations. This model will secure the company’s future and provide job security in the long term."
Power Supply
USB bus powered (1.8–5.5 V)
Power Consumption
Standby: 900 μA–2 mA
Hi-Speed: 150 mA–200 mA
Controller
Mass storage class controller
ECC (4 byte for 4 byte error correction)
Automatic bad block management
Security
Write-protection switch
Bootability
– Boot up with a USB legacy boot supported BIOS
– Ready Boost (Windows Vista)
LED
Blinking for writing and reading status (full access red / write protection green)
Performance
Hi-Speed: Read max. 30 MB / sec,
Write max. 23 MB / sec
Capacity
2 / 4 / 8 / 16 / 32 / 64 / 128 GB
Operating temperature
0°C to +50°C (32°F to 122°F)
Storage temperature
-20°C to +60°C (-4°F to 140°F)
Packaging
Printed cardboard box,
L, W, D: 145 mm x 116 mm x 22 mm
Package contents
Victorinox Flash / Victorinox Flash Laser
Origin
Swiss Army Knife: Swiss Made
Electronic components: Made in USA
Swiss engineering
Guarantee
Memory: 2 years
Pocket-Tool: lifetime against any
defects in material and workmanship
The SwissFlash Laser Pocket Knife from Victorinox comes shipped in a small cardboard box, with a transparent small window on top, for us to see how the product does look, without the need to open up the box:
On the sides of the box, we can see product descriptions, in many different languages:
On the back of the box, we get to see the system requirements to operate the product, and also some warnings regarding the laser inside:
When opening up the box, we can reveal besides the product itself, the small User Guide:
On the inside of the box, we can also see instructions on how to remove the USB Flash drive from the pocket knife:
The small manual tells us how to operate the product, but also how to perform maintenance on it like changing the pressurized ballpoint pen or the battery:
The pocket knife has a very stylish appearance, with the sides made of transparent red plastic; on one of the sides, we can see the location of the internal battery, along with the company logo, which has under it a button, which must be pressed in case we want to activate the laser:
On the opposite side, we get a warning regarding the laser usage and information regarding the wavelength and max output:
On one of the laterals, we can find a little hole, through which we must insert a paper clip, in order to remove the internal battery:
The opposite side has a small plastic door, which is opened when the battery is removed:
When opened, the pocket knife can reveal the blade, a nail file with screwdriver, scissors and a key ring:
On one of the laterals we can also find a small plastic sliding part, which can be used to reveal the pressurized ballpoint pen:
The USB Flash drive inside has a transparent plastic casing, so all the electronic components inside get to be revealed; on one of its sides, we can find the Victorinox logo, along with the total drive capacity. The USB connector is golden, to get the best possible contact with the USB port:
The opposite side reveals the memory chip:
The flash drive lock/unlock switch can be found on one of its sides:
If the flash drive is in read/write (normal) mode, the activity LED will light up red:
When we switch in the read only mode, the activity LED will turn green:
By pressing the top logo, we can operate the laser (it is very important not to look straight into the beam because it may damage your eyes):
The test-bench is composed from the ASUS X55SV laptop, the one that I have used for all the Flash Drive tests I have done before and the operating system was Windows 7 x64.
The drive comes already formatted, FAT32:
On the drive we can also find a PDF presentation of Victorinox with lots of slides and a small movie:
To determine the flash drive read speeds, I have used the HD Tune Pro 4.60 utility:
To measure the real life performance, I have used the Total Commander application to copy to the flash drive and from the flash drive the same file and recorded the transfer speeds, when they have stabilized.
File Copy
File Read
The SwissFlash Laser 2GB Pocket Knife with Laser from Victorinox does not disappoint: it is a multifunctional product that can be used in many activities; besides the blade, nail file, screwdriver, scissors and key ring that most pocket knives do have, this model has also a retractable ball point pen, that can be used in case we do not have our regular pen handy, and there's also a powerful laser pointer.
The reviewed unit had an USB drive incorporated with the capacity of 2GB, enough for storing our important documents; the read speed, as it can be seen from the performed tests is good, but the write one is mediocre.
Since Victorinox is an old company with a lot of history, they have decided to share some knowledge with us, by including on the flash drive a presentation in Powerpoint format, for us to know their current and future plans of development, along with a short videoclip.
The product can be bought directly from the Victorinox Online Store ($112), or from AG Comexim (301RON), in case you live in Romania.
I would like to thank again to AG Comexim and Victorinox for offering me a sample of this product for review!