14 DAY TRIAL // It wasn't so long ago that the number of dual-port universal serial bus flash drives was so low that you could count all of them on one hand. Now, though, a new one or more seem to be making their debut every week.
The one we're going to talk about today is the Duo-Link OU2 from PNY. You can see from the name that brand vendors are running out of cool monikers involving the word “two” and its many translations. Still, the name could have been a lot worse.
That aside, the flash drive is one of the smallest out there, both in general and when compared only to its own kind. Indeed, if not for the cap that covers the micro-USB port, it might even have been the smallest.
Speaking of the cap, it's interesting to note that it is it that integrates the gap where a key chain or lanyard should go, rather than the main body of the drive itself.
Then again, when both ends of the storage device are a connectivity interface, there aren't many design alternatives in that regard.
The specs of the Duo-Link OU2 flash drive
The storage device is compatible with all smartphone models, as well as tablets, so long as the Android operating system is 4.0 or later.
For personal computers, all Windows operating system versions should be supported, though we assume that doesn't include Windows 95 and maybe not 98. Better have XP or newer, just to be safe.
As for Apple Mac systems, you'll be fine regardless of the Mac OS version, according to the PNY press release.
Storage-wise, the Duo-Link OU2 flash drives have 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB capacities, all of them backed by a 2-year warranty.
Finally, performance isn't as good as it could be due to PNY sticking to USB 2.0 technology instead of going all the way to USB 3.0. Because of that, both the full-size and micro-USB ports are limited to 480 Mbps, and probably won't reach even that maximum since few, if any, USB 2.0 units use the technology at its best. Real life performance is always like that.
It should still be enough for video, music and photo file transfers to and from a phone though, or to ferry data between PCs and mobile devices and vice versa.
Availability and pricing
PNY did not specify them for the Duo-Link OU2 flash drive series. Affordability should be the same as for other USB-OTG drives though, since many of them have a physical package of similar dimensions: 3.8 grams / 0.13 oz and 31 x 4.5 x 12 mm / 1.22 x 0.17 x 0.47 inches.