yni wrote:of course, you don't mention tax and shipping. or are you a special customer who doesn't have to pay "those" silly amounts.
oh yeah, i didn't know metal housing was THE feature of a flash drive

To any lawmaker reading: suspend the tax, especially on probably faulty merchandise

Bottom line: tax kills the deal!

First off, drop the attitude. It helps no one and doesn't add to your point. As for adding tax and shipping, do you always add in the cost of transportation and/or gas when comparing prices? Do you factor in the time it takes to travel? As a NYCer, round trip on the subway is $4.50 if you don't use a discount card, and my dislike of the subways in incalculable. And sorry, my time is too valuable to constantly search through local circulars for low prices so when a good deal comes along via Woot, it's worth grabbing.

Woot's $5 s/h is well worth the time and $4.50 saved from not having to use mass transit. As for sales tax, the majority of Wooters aren't affected and if you use "TAXSUCKS," taxpayers get reimbursed $5 on purchases over $40. Furthermore, many online vendors now collect sales tax, and you'd certainly pay sales tax at local stores. So all in all, this is certainly one of the lowest prices you can find for a 32GB USB drive, even if you factor in tax and shipping.

As for the sarcastic comment, "oh yeah, i didn't know metal housing was THE feature of a flash drive." Who said anything about it being "THE feature"? I wrote that it contributes to the drive's value or worth. Check out the flash drives from other companies and you'd see that metal versions cost more. It's that simple. In fact, I even posted a message about how Centon also makes a much flimsier plastic model, which I also own. Find me another 32gb metal USB flash drive for $29.99 -- or even $29.99 + $5s/h and tax.

packfan168 wrote:How do I cancel this order?

You should have received a confirmation email if your order went through. SImply forward that email to service@woot.com with a statement that you wish to cancel.

thegametech wrote:I've had this brand before. It was the 8 gig stick, but looked just like this one. My biggest complaint: The case actually came off at some point. And I'm not rough with my flash drives. Also, after the case came off, it was pron to damage... which it did get.

But was your pr0n damaged?

grif wrote:
Readyboost over USB is just insipid, why would you swap a tertiary swap file over to your slowest drive interface?? Never was intended to work in practice, only in theory.

That is the opposite of true.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/tomarcher/archive/2006/06/02/615199.aspx

It's not a general-purpose paging file. It's used for file caching. You need to also have SuperFetch enabled to make very good use of it. Then SuperFetch will preload from your Readyboost cache.

Man, on account of today's dramatically focused product image, I am suddenly aware of the gravity of owning a 32GB flash drive. In for all of them, what have I been doing with my life?

I just want backup storage. At less than $1.50/GB with tax and shipping, I'll take it.

promyst wrote:Centon has very bad reliability. Buyer beware.

Does anyone have a coupon for the Centon Datastick?

coastwaters wrote:Wow...my 4GB Centon flash drive caught on fire while plugged into my computer two days ago. I don't recommend this to anyone for any reason. Free is to expensive for this item!

There is enough electricity flowing through to start a fire? Or were you using it while welding?

schm1tty wrote:Well knowing that the memory chips are probably made by samsung, I dont believe that the buyer beware argument is valid. Regardless, its less than $1/GB. If i didn't already have a 32GB flash drive I would snatch up one of these.

Last Time I checked, 34.99 for 32 gigs is more than $1 per GB? Math failure?

I suppose if you buy 2, it is only 64.98 for 64 GB, so it is ALMOST less than $1 per GB, but not quite...

creecher121 wrote:I have a 16GB that I got from here that died after about a month. I found a program that was able to force it to reformat and now it works, but if I put more than 5GB on it I get an error message. Also there was no way to get the encryption software back after I had to reformat it, Centon doesn't give it out again.

I got the same Centon 16Gb USB and I had the same experience where it stop functioning after a few weeks. I thought I did something wrong. I'd be interested in knowing the link to what program you used to fix it. Thanks.

Magiciandude wrote:This will hold 32GB of data!

That's 32,768MB and 34,359,738,368 bytes!

Wowza!

Did you do all that math without a calculator?

promyst wrote:Go to any retail website and search Centon, you will find a treasure trove of complaints about their products failing in less than 30 days.

This has been my experience with all of this company's line of products, especially with their RAM. It's pretty obvious at these prices, they cut as many corners as possible, using substandard parts and shoddy manufacturing practices.

If you keep this in mind, and aren't using this stick to store mission critical files on it that aren't backed up elsewhere, you'll get decent use out of it.

Based on the performance issues, it appears to be MLC flash instead of SLC flash, but if someone who knows would post, that would be greatly appreciated.

My current 32GB flash drive has lots of bad reviews on Amazon, so I bought it from ZaReason because they have a great quality control and a great warranty. I have never had a problem with anything purchased from them. That said, I had previously purchased a 32GB flash drive that died right away and was screwed by seller when I tried to return it, so another big part of why I picked ZaReason was that for me, they are a local company, and I felt that if I were to have a problem, I could deal with it in person.

If you intend to use this drive with files larger than 4GB, I strongly advise formatting it with NTFS (not NTSC as indicated by nickdude07). I have been using NTFS with Linux without trouble for many years now. I carry a 32GB USB stick formatted with NTFS and containing a Wubi transfer (By the power of Ubuntu, every computer starts as my computer with my programs and settings, plus plenty of NTFS storage space where I have disc images larger than 4GB). I don't use a Mac, but in 2005, I worked with someone who did and he could get files off of my NTFS partitions but not put files on them without the use of third party software.

grif, partitioning to support multiple FAT32 or FAT16 partitions is probably a bad idea since Windows will only let you access the first partition (unless you flip the removable media bit)(this is not a problem with other operating systems). Flipping the removable media bit causes the drive to be identified as a hard drive instead of a flash drive. While this lets you access multiple partitions in Windows, it also disables ready boost. Unless the manufacturer can send you a program that will flip the removable media bit, you risk bricking the flash drive with a third party application. The most popular third party application for this is Lexar's Boot It (which has been discontinued by Lexar).

I have used one for about a year now no issues. Paid way more then this so wish I had waited also if you look at the reviews on this product on google it has 4.5 out of 5

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=dsp32gb-001&sqi=2&cid=15779603025048783416&os=reviews

I'm in for another one.

no mo, already

Wow, thanks woot, this is exactly what I needed. Maybe not the most romantic Valentine's gift, but appreciated far more than candy or flowers.

I have a 32gb flash drive... or I used to, before it started spending more time living with my sister at college. I loaned it to her one time while she was trying to transfer her iPod music onto a new laptop (or maybe the other way round; whichever one Apple makes impossibly aggravating to do). Then the next time she came home, she ended up taking it back with her again to hold a good portion of her DVD collection so she wouldn't have to cram so many discs and cases into a tiny bedroom. I don't even remember why it's with her now... every time she comes home there's some new legitimate reason why she really needs to borrow it again.

To her credit she did offer to buy me a new one, but I didn't have the heart to tell her they're usually around fifty bucks a pop.

coastwaters wrote:Wow...my 4GB Centon flash drive caught on fire while plugged into my computer two days ago. I don't recommend this to anyone for any reason. Free is to expensive for this item!

Did you contact them to let them know I would be intrested in knowing what they said. I have never heard of a USB catching fire. What were you doing wiht it?

checkmate0021 wrote:I have used one for about a year now no issues. Paid way more then this so wish I had waited also if you look at the reviews on this product on google it has 4.5 out of 5

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&q=dsp32gb-001&sqi=2&cid=15779603025048783416&os=reviews

I'm in for another one.

Note that all the tiger direct and compusa reviews are copies of eachother, and there's at least one terrible review thats 5 stars.

"■(USB flash drives are small external hard drives that can easily be connected to computer peripherals such as keyboards, mice, printers, and digital electronic spies to conveniently store, share and transfer your data.)"

So...I can connect this to my mouse?
I always wanted to know what was in her memory banks..can I copy her memory and then view it on my keyboard?

Ok things to consider -

1 - People who have a bad experience are the most likely to leave a review.

2 - One review mentions a rebate problem, most companies (even small ones) tend to farm out their rebates to a 3rd party.

3 - That same person did not go into how they tried to contact the company or how long they waited before deciding they were the devil. If they called once after business hours and gave up, that really is not an attempt.

4 - I found 1 review on BestBuy.ca where they said it would not work for Readyboost, which means it is not meeting meager speed requirements.

Now someone(s) had posted a list of 32 gig flash drive speed tests and something that struck me as very odd was when I found what I believe is the drive they reported 3 different total sizes. I could accept 2 different sizes in my head as different formatting (NTFS vs FAT32) take different overall space. But the fact there were 3 had me confused.

Their are people saying Centon is a horrible company, but many of them are basing this solely on Amazon reviews not personal experience.

Centon makes many different items, a bad review of 1 does not mean everything they make is horrible.

This is not going to be a very fast drive, making no speed claims at all means those numbers are more than likely low.

If you are expecting this to be super zippy SSD equivalent drive, save yourself the heartache and pass.

If you need a 32 gig drive to carry mission critical data, you need to do due diligence and when you get it run tests to make sure it meets and beats what you require from the drive.

In the end only you can make the final decision to buy or pass. You need to read what is posted, take some with a grain (shaker) of salt and decide.

It's also cheaper on Amazon.com than woot as well!

CyrusCT wrote:Based on the performance issues, it appears to be MLC flash instead of SLC flash, but if someone who knows would post, that would be greatly appreciated.

My current 32GB flash drive has lots of bad reviews on Amazon, so I bought it from ZaReason because they have a great quality control and a great warranty. I have never had a problem with anything purchased from them. That said, I had previously purchased a 32GB flash drive that died right away and was screwed by seller when I tried to return it, so another big part of why I picked ZaReason was that for me, they are a local company, and I felt that if I were to have a problem, I could deal with it in person.

If you intend to use this drive with files larger than 4GB, I strongly advise formatting it with NTFS (not NTSC as indicated by nickdude07). I have been using NTFS with Linux without trouble for many years now. I carry a 32GB USB stick formatted with NTFS and containing a Wubi transfer (By the power of Ubuntu, every computer starts as my computer with my programs and settings, plus plenty of NTFS storage space where I have disc images larger than 4GB). I don't use a Mac, but in 2005, I worked with someone who did and he could get files off of my NTFS partitions but not put files on them without the use of third party software.

grif, partitioning to support multiple FAT32 or FAT16 partitions is probably a bad idea since Windows will only let you access the first partition (unless you flip the removable media bit)(this is not a problem with other operating systems). Flipping the removable media bit causes the drive to be identified as a hard drive instead of a flash drive. While this lets you access multiple partitions in Windows, it also disables ready boost. Unless the manufacturer can send you a program that will flip the removable media bit, you risk bricking the flash drive with a third party application. The most popular third party application for this is Lexar's Boot It (which has been discontinued by Lexar).

To use this on Linux/Mac/windows interchangeably it has to be formatted NTFS as stated correctly above. For MAC users you simply need to load 2 free components NTFS-3G and MAC-FUSE which allow you to both read and write to an NTFS formatted memory device.

I got the 16GB one a while back. Beware it only lasted 6 months. I went to pull it out of the computer one day and the whole sheathing came off instead.

cubbiemi wrote:Now someone(s) had posted a list of 32 gig flash drive speed tests and something that struck me as very odd was when I found what I believe is the drive they reported 3 different total sizes. I could accept 2 different sizes in my head as different formatting (NTFS vs FAT32) take different overall space. But the fact there were 3 had me confused.

If your referring to the sizes of 31.57 GB, 31.56 GB, 31.55 GB those seem to be well within the margin of error if you take into account bad sectors from manufacturing and use, the possiblility of changing design components over time, different batches of flash chips, system doing the measuring (ie rounding) etc etc. You'll notice that variance appears on most drives on the list.

The difference between fat32 and NTFS would probably be quite a bit larger than that, and there are several other file formatting options

thaskaman wrote:oh maaan

there's no app for the drivers to use this for my iPad??

alright, well then im going to pass



why wont my zune connect to my iPad either WHYYYYYY =)

Obviously because if you connected a zune to an iPad the world would explode.

Magiciandude wrote:This will hold 32GB of data!

That's 32,768MB and 34,359,738,368 bytes!

Wowza!

That's 274,877,906,944 bits!
fun fact, that's a bit (not a pun) under a third of the number or random bits generated by Random.org since it started.

When is woot going to fix their comment links?

For a month or two, when you (or at least *I*, lol) click on a comment link, it takes me to the comment, and then automatically goes to the top of that page. A hassle, as I then have to go back to main page of comment section, find out the ID of the commenter, go back to the comment page, and search for it.

davidmcdougall wrote:To use this on Linux/Mac/windows interchangeably it has to be formatted NTFS as stated correctly above. For MAC users you simply need to load 2 free components NTFS-3G and MAC-FUSE which allow you to both read and write to an NTFS formatted memory device.

That's only for drives larger than 32GB or when it's necessary to write files larger than 4GB. The maximum volume size for FAT32 is 32GB so there are no special considerations here. This drive comes formatted in FAT32 and will work fine with Windows, Mac, Linux, and media devices. NTFS will not work with many media devices.

For Mac users with OS X 10.6.5+ who need to write files larger than 4GB and want Windows compatibility, exFAT is the format of choice. Apple added full exFAT support in 10.6.5. Macs with 10.6.4 that have SDXC card readers also have exFAT support. Linux support for exFAT is still a work in progress and exFAT will not work in media devices that do not have SDXC support. Most media devices do not have SDXC support yet.

Bottom Line: You don't have to do anything to this drive to use it with different operating systems and devices.

I'll loose it anyway so it doesn't really matter......

For the Mac USers... You can use this in either FAT32 or MAC formatting... However after formatting for MAC HFS, you will not be able to access the drive on a windowz PC...

buffaloed wrote:That's only for drives larger than 32GB or when it's necessary to write files larger than 4GB. The maximum volume size for FAT32 is 32GB so there are no special considerations here. This drive comes formatted in FAT32 and will work fine with Windows, Mac, Linux, and media devices. NTFS will not work with many media devices.

For Mac users with OS X 10.6.5+ who need to write files larger than 4GB and want Windows compatibility, exFAT is the format of choice. Apple added full exFAT support in 10.6.5. Macs with 10.6.4 that have SDXC card readers also have exFAT support. Linux support for exFAT is still a work in progress and exFAT will not work in media devices that do not have SDXC support. Most media devices do not have SDXC support yet.

Bottom Line: You don't have to do anything to this drive to use it with different operating systems and devices.

You are entirely correct, but in these days of HD video and high megapixel electronic spies having a 4GB file size limit pretty much means you have to go with NTFS for MAC/windows compatibility

sdc100 wrote:Probably the metal housing. I also own a Centon 32gb USB flash drive that is VERY cheaply made of plastic. The entire thing feels very flimsy.

what model do you have I can not find a plastic one..

It's all about them floppy discs man, that's where it's at.

evilmicrowizard wrote:It seems like a good price, but quite some time ago I purchased a Centon MP3 player that had the words "USB 2.0" splashed all over it. I was thrilled to have a player that would let me get my music onto it much faster ... until I actually timed how long it took to put the music on. It was identical to the USB 1.1 MP3 players that I had.

Turns out Centon was using "USB 2.0" to refer to "Full-Speed USB 2.0" ... which is the same speed as USB 1.1, as opposed to "Hi-Speed USB 2.0", which is what I thought I was getting and is the 40x faster version that USB 2.0 is supposed to be all about.

The company never said a word in reply when I commented on this to them. I distrust companies that weasel-word and use terms to try to claim benefits that their products don't actually have. The specs on this item - especially "Interface: USB 2.0" and "Speed: Standard Speed" are giving me horrible flashbacks to that old MP3 player.

Perhaps some current owner can do a drive-speed test or otherwise demonstrate that Centon has left these bad old days behind them. Until then, for me, will avoid; will keep an eye out for USB3 flash drives instead (which rock on Hi-Speed USB2 ports, btw!)...

just tested on the one I got last year and it is running

Test finished without errors.
You can now delete the test files *.h2w or verify them again.
Writing speed: 14.6 MByte/s
Reading speed: 19.6 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

not super fast but also not hours to load the whole drive.

whitehatsforhire wrote:no mo, already

dang that was fast, gone already...

Only got a few reviews on Amazon but they are pretty poor...

http://tinyurl.com/45zpyu5

....or you can pay $9 more and get a Patriot with much better reviews. I've got a 16gb version of the one I'm posting here that I keep in my stereo in my car. Has worked well for the last six months.

http://www.amazon.com/Patriot-Signature-Capless-Flash-PSF32GDUSB/dp/B003BRSNMQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

allenallen wrote:why do the alaskans NEVER woot? ANSWER ME!!!!

Woot doesn't ship to Alaska or Hawaii, see the FAQs.