Kingston Data Traveler Workspace Windows To Go Flash Drive Review

REPORT ANALYSIS AND FINAL THOUGHTS

To simply say that the Kingston DT Workspace with Windows To Go installed has been a long time in the making is an understatement, however, all is not a box of chocolates and I hope Microsoft listens close because they really missed the bus on this one.  Windows 8 alone is a VERY difficult environment to learn for any user and a key to success that Microsoft may have considered would have been to include Windows To Go in retail copies of the OS.

Limiting WTG to only those corporate and enterprise users that buy Windows 8 enterprise is a definite risk where I believe their greed got in the way of guaranteeing the success of Windows 8.  Then again, I can voice a few opinions that are just as strong with respect to the useless Metro screen that cannot be simply be turned off, as well as the need to use your Microsoft identity to be able to fully interact with Windows 8. Epic fail MS and you should have listened to the crowd long ago.

The ONLY aspect of Windows 8 that I do enjoy is through use of a dual screen setup as we can see here with the desktop on the left and Metro on the right.  This is a straight boot of Windows To Go BTW.

KINGSTON DATA TRAVELER WORKSPACE USB 3.0 FLASH DRIVE

Focusing in on the Kingston DT Workspace, seeing is truly believing when this drive is up and running because there are absolutely no performance gaps between the Workspace and a regular SSD, in startup and typical use.  Running the drive in a USB 3.0 port enables performance above 200MB/s and we don’t see that often with any flash drive, just as we never expected a 6 second boot from post. In fact, even if you accidentally pull the drive out while WTG is in use, you have 60 seconds to return it without effect.

At the end of the day, the meat and gravy with the Workspace is that it is the first flash drive in the world to allow booting from any Windows 7/8 PC, and running it in its own environment separate to whatever else is contained on the computer in use.  In addition, there’s no need to trouble yourself finding drivers as WTG does that for you the first time you boot into a new system.

We are a bit disappointed as we did break the unit through disassembly and fully intended on putting a video together for this review and have suggested to Kingston that the shipping of another for that video might be a smart move.  As well, pricing is not yet available for the Workspace, however, it is definitely deserving of our innovation Award!