Lexar JumpDrive S45 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review

Introduction

There probably are as many different flash drives on the market as there are bugs on a big rig’s window after a 1000 mile trip, but they aren’t all the same and don’t have the same usage scenarios. Today I’m taking a closer look at Lexar’s JumpDrive S45 USB 3.0 flash drive.

The JumpDrive S45 is a low-profile flash drive, also known as nano drives. It is no surprise that it got that name as it barely is larger than what the actual type-A USB plug has to be. This is a great design for usage scenarios where you leave the flash drive plugged in, a plug-and-stay scenario. With its tiny size, it will not interfere with surrounding ports and let you forget that you even plugged it in – besides the gained storage capacity.

Whether you use a portable system where you don’t want a large stick hanging off the side, you don’t want a permanent stick interfering with your other ports, or you want to use in on an internal type-A port, the JumpDrive S45 will surely be a great choice.

Lexar makes the JumpDrive S45 in quite a few sizes from 16GB to 128GB and they’re easily recognizable through the different colours on the cop. The 16GB is orange, the 32GB is blue, the 64GB is teal, and the 128GB model is black. Within the plastic cap is a transparent strip on the side as well as on the end and these are used for the built-in LED to display connection and activity.

To protect the drive when it isn’t plugged in, Lexar added a top cover that also can be mounted onto a keychain and similar places. It has a very tight fit, so you don’t need to worry about the two parts falling apart in your pocket or bag.

A small size doesn’t mean that you also have to get a small performance in return. The JumpDrive S45 is rated for speeds up to 150MB/s reading and 45MB/s writing. The two smallest version are just as fast reading, but a little slower at writing with just 20MB/s and 30MB/s respectively for the 16GB and 32GB models.

With speeds like this, you can quickly transfer a large amount of files from the drive and onto your system or back onto the drive. A 3GB HD video clip can be copied in less than 90 seconds thanks to the use of USB 3.0.

Security is an important factor at any time and I always welcome companies that take this part serious and bundle software and hardware solutions to aid their customers to protect their files. The JumpDrive S45 includes the EncryptStick Lite software which is an advanced security solution with 256-bit AES encryption. This will help protect your essential files against corruption, loss, and deletion. You can easily create a password-protected vault that automatically encrypts data that is being copied or moved into it. It further adds the protection and peace of mind that files which are deleted from the vault are securely erased and can’t be recovered.

The software will help protect your essential files against corruption, loss, and deletion. You can easily create a password-protected vault that automatically encrypts data that is being copied or moved into it. It further adds the protection and peace of mind that files which are deleted from the vault are securely erased and can’t be recovered.

Specifications & Highlights

• Low-profile, plug-and-stay design
• Stores and transfers content quickly with USB 3.0 performance
• Securely protects files using EncryptStick Lite software, an advanced security solution with 256-bit AES encryption
• Reliably stores and transfers photos, videos, files, and more
• Compatible with PC and Mac® systems
• Backwards compatible with USB 2.0 devices
• Three-year limited warranty
• Capacities:
  16GB in orange (up to 150MB/s read, 20MB/s write)
  32GB in blue (up to 150MB/s read, 30MB/s write)
  64GB in teal (up to 150MB/s read, 45MB/s write)
  128GB in black (up to 150MB/s read and 45MB/s write)

Packaging

The Lexar JumpDrive S45 comes in a simple cardboard package as we’re used to from flash drives. All the highlights are covered on the front and we can see the drive itself through the plastic part.

The rear of the package has all the small print in seven different languages.