Testing

When testing this USB drive we tested it on 2 machines, one with USB 1.1, and one with USB 2.0, to note the difference in speed. What we found is that the USB drive transfers at the same speed (as expected) on both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0. The transfer speed we recorded on both machines via SiSoft Sandra Standard was 904 kb/s. Below is a graph comparing the Pen Drive we reviewed with this JetFlash USB drive. We also tested the write-protection feature, and it worked just the same as the Pen Drive, when you try to copy files onto it, a write-protection error box pops up to let you know you can not transfer the files.

USB 1.1 Test Rig Specs:

M7VIG, AMD AthlonXP 2100+ (1.73Ghz), 512MB PC2100, GF4 Ti4200, SB Live! 5.1, Cendyne 52x CD-RW, 16x DVD, Seagate Barracuda IV 7200rpm 80GB 2mb cache, Enermax 460W PSU.

USB 2.0 Test Rig Specs:

KT400A LANPARTY, AMD Athlon 1.4 Ghz, 512MB PC2100, GF3 Ti200, SB Live MP3+ 5.1, ATI TV Wonder VE, 40GB 7200RPM Seagate, Lite-On 16x DVD, 420W PSU.

USB Drive Benchmarks

USB 2.0

Jet Flash (USB 2.0)

Pen Drive (USB 2.0)

Jet Flash (USB 1.1)

Pen Drive (USB 1.1)

904

6286

904

965

0

Transfer Speed (kb/s)

7000

 

 

Conclusion

Overall this is a decent product that doesn't really compete with other USB drives. For just a couple of dollars more you can purchase a Pen Drive with much better performance and USB 2.0 compliance. This USB drive isn't bad, and does the job, but not as fast as its competitors. One feature that I liked about the JetFlash USB drive is the boot-up function that lets you switch between ZIP and HDD mode (Windows only). If you are in the market for a USB drive, a JetFlash USB drive would probably not be the best choice unless you are looking for a USB drive that can be used to boot-up into MS-DOS. If you don't care for the bootable USB drive feature, I would recommend that you look at the Pen Drive because of its superior performance and USB 2.0 compliance.

Pros

Stylish
Compact data storage
Boot-up function
Security feature
Included neckstrap
Up to 2.0gb capacity

Cons

Lacking performance
Large capacity JetFlash USB drive is pricy