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The Buffalo RUF- C512M/U2 comes in a typical blister pack, but at least it is easy to open as Buffalo has made perforations in the plastic. Other companies could learn a lot from this, since blister packs can sometimes be dangerous to your health when you try to open them.

The RUF- C512M/U2 comes with a 54cm long USB cable and some instructions, but no drivers or software. A URL is provided for the Buffalo website where you can download Windows 98 drivers, but the RUF- C512M/U2 is plug and play compatible with Windows ME and later as well as Mac OS 9.0 and later.

The RUF- C512M/U2 itself measures 70 x 16 x 8mm (LxWxH) which is quite pocket friendly, while the translucent purple plastic body makes it stand out from the crowd. There is a hole for a neck or wrist strap, but neither is supplied. The cap has a clip on each side allowing it to be stored on to the back of the device when in use, saving you from spending ages looking for the lid when you pull the key from your computer. There is a hardware write protection lock in the form of a small physical switch on the side of the casing.

Performance wise, the Buffalo is no stunner, ranking as the second slowest drive in the write tests. However it does quite a lot better in the read tests where it keeps a fairly even track with most of the other units and even managed to beat off some of the competition.

Overall the Buffalo RUF- C512M/U2 is nothing out of the ordinary - the price is quite attractive for a 512MB device, although not quite the cheapest on test. We have since we originally posted this review been informed by Buffalo that all USB flash drives comes with a two year warranty, not one year as previously stated, but there is a printing error in some of the literature supplied with some of the devices, hence the misunderstanding.

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