LaCie iamaKey Really is a USB Key

Although out for quite some time now, only recently has LaCie sent me its iamaKey USB flash drive to review. The USB key is a USB key, right down to its all steel composition and a hole for key rings.

The end of the iamaKey is shaped like your typical USB socket, sans the protective rectangular sheath that protects the golden-colored contacts. The iamaKey comes with a small plastic cover that plugs into this exposed end. This keeps the aesthetic theme intact, but I do worry about how easy it is to lose the cover, given its minuscule size. It also slips off quite easily, potentially exposing the iamaKey’s contacts to scratching inside a pocket full of coins and real keys.

While LaCie’s iamaKey is visually distinctive, performance-wise it’s not. You can expect the same speeds as any other USB 2.0 flash drive, in terms of writing and reading performance—and is backward-compatible with USB 1.0 as well. Other factors also determine the drive’s speed anyway, such as the speed of the source data, and the motherboard controlling the computer’s USB ports.

In any case, there’s nothing extraordinary about the specs of the LaCie iamaKey. Again, it’s like your average flash drive, but with a visual twist. That might be enough to justify its $18 average price, but not to those looking for a simple, no-frills USB key or thumb drive.