OCZ Throttle 16GB eSATA flash drive review

Where would we be without portable flash drives these days, I ask you?  Without the data we need where we need it most of the time, that's where.  I can't think of many people I know these days who aren't usually fully prepared to pull out a flash drive at the slightest provocation to cart some files around, and I know it's saved me a lot of hassle countless times over the past year.  However, USB 2.0 is getting a bit long in the tooth these days - Sure, it's convenient as you'll be hard pressed to find a system that doesn't support it these days, but isn't there a better way to move your data around as we approach 2009?

Well, how about eSATA?  With support for transfer rates up to 300Mb a second, and availability in most new systems these days, eSATA may not quite be the new USB for flash drives and storage media, but it could prove to be a useful alternative.  Enter OCZ, so often the first to take the plunge with something a little different these days, and their range of Throttle drives available in capacities from 8GB all the way up to 32GB.  As well as featuring the usual USB 2.0 interface (albeit via a mini-USB connector), the main selling point of the Throttle is the presence of an eSATA connector, allowing you to hook this particular flash drive up via said interface.

It's always exciting to see something a little different hitting the market, but how well does the OCZ Throttle work, and how does it perform?  That's exactly what we're here to find out.