INTRODUCTION

   The Nineteen Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case which we had the pleasure of reviewing two days ago is one of those products which prove that larger is always better but that doesn't really apply for everything in this industry especially when it comes to USB flash drives. Luckily that's something everyone agrees on and so most manufacturers have been doing their best to cut down the size of USB flash drives for a while now. The issue with that however is that currently most tiny USB flash drives are not only average in terms of design and build quality but they are also USB 2.0 compatible only so in the end size means very little when you need quite a bit of time to even fill just 16GB. Well it seems that Patriot may have the answer with their latest and quite elegant Spark USB 3.0 USB Flash Drive which we have here with us today.

   Established in 1985, Patriot Memory builds a full range of memory module and flash memory products, offering a perfect blend of quality and value. Patriot products include Extreme Performance (EP), Signature Lines (SL) and Flash Memory solutions (FM). Commitment, focus on innovation in technology, product quality, and customer satisfaction are the key enablers of our future success. Patriot's development and manufacturing facility are located in Fremont, California USA and Taipei, Taiwan. Our manufacturing segment is composed of a highly skilled production staff and multiple production lines optimized for modules, giving Patriot the ability and resources necessary to provide a full line of memory module solutions. We understand the value of designing and responding quickly and intelligently to the rapid changes inherent in the memory module industry. This commitment to R&D enables us to deliver the best quality memory modules powered by the latest innovative technology.

   I've been carrying USB flash drives with me for as long as i can remember (attached to my keychain) so I’ve always tried to use the smallest ones i could find regardless of speed and capacity. One thing however i did care about and that's quality so I’ve never carried a USB flash drive with me that didn't feature a metal or aluminum housing. Well the latest Spark does feature an nice looking metal housing and ontop of that it's also quite fast (according to its specs sheet) and is currently available in capacities up to 64GB something that we don't see very often with so tiny drives. Of course with such a tiny drive there are some things one needs to look out for in order to avoid misplacing it (or even worse losing it) but i think that for most people that will not be an issue at all. What remains to be seen however is just how fast a tiny USB 3.0 Flash Drive like the Spark can be so let's find out.