Most of us who are old enough to remember the days of the floppy disk have a special appreciation for modern USB flash drives. It used to take a large stack of “floppies” to hold just a few really large files, and those floppies were susceptible to all kinds of problems that are virtually unheard of nowadays.
The invention of the USB flash drive solved virtually all of the problems that plagued the floppy disk, including the big one: extremely limited storage capacity. In fact, I saw an ad just a short while ago for a USB flash drive that can store up to 512GB of data!
There are several companies that manufacture and sell flash memory devices, and one that I have always liked is Lexar.
I began using Lexar products several years ago when I purchased a 512MB SD memory card for first digital camera. Since then I’ve used many Lexar devices, and overall I have found them to be quite reliable and easily affordable.
I recently received a 16GB Lexar JumpDrive S33 USB 3.0 flash drive for review, and since I had never used a Lexar USB drive before I didn’t really know what to expect. But after using it for a few days I can tell you that I really like it.
First of all, this is just about the lightest thumb drive I have ever seen. I carried it around in my shirt pocket for the better part of a day, and I literally forgot that it was in there. I tend to carry things like this my shirt pocket and I really dislike items that are small, but heavy. This one isn’t.
Another nice feature of the JumpDrive S33 is the swiveling cover that automatically retracts and extends the USB connector as it rotates. No more lost covers!
But what impressed me the most was the blazing USB 3.0 data transfer speed. I have used other USB 3.0 flash drives before, but I honestly believe this JumpDrive S33 is the fastest one I’ve ever used in its price range.
I’m not one to perform a ton of scientific speed tests on the devices I review, because I believe the average user couldn’t care less about them. What most people want to know about flash drives is really pretty simple: Is this a fast drive? And in the case of the Lexar JumpDrive S33, the answer is a resounding yes.
The JumpDrive S33 is compatible with both PCs and Macs, and it is covered by a three year limited warranty. You can read more about the JumpDrive S33 line of USB flash drives on the Lexar website.