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Introduction
Most consumers purchasing a USB flash drive walk into any retail store and look for the cheapest one they can buy. Most do not know about the brand or quality and just grab what ever is the most inexpensive. Lexar, a reliable company in the flash memory market, has been around since very beginning and has developed great products. Here at ASE Labs, we've got the Lexar 2GB FireFly on the review block to see where the drive ranks among the rest.
About Lexar
Packaging
All of design work on this product is sleek. Even the packaging comes in a very clean appealing package which draws your eye to the product. On the front of the package, it informs the consumer what type of files this USB drive can store and brags about its high-speed and extreme portability. While other USB flash drives come in clam shell packaging requiring you to have a blade on you to open them, the FireFly is secured in a plastic casing wrapped with cardboard. This allows for extremely simple opening of the item.
One the reverse side it shows what operating systems this USB flash drive is supported on, which are Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Apple OS X. We tested the FireFly on both Windows 7 and OS X and it ran perfectly. Since it is USB mass storage, it will work on any modern operating system.
Specifications
Introduction
Most consumers purchasing a USB flash drive walk into any retail store and look for the cheapest one they can buy. Most do not know about the brand or quality and just grab what ever is the most inexpensive. Lexar, a reliable company in the flash memory market, has been around since very beginning and has developed great products. Here at ASE Labs, we've got the Lexar 2GB FireFly on the review block to see where the drive ranks among the rest.
About Lexar
Quote
A wholly owned subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc., Lexar Media, Inc. boasts one of the most comprehensive offerings of memory product lines in the industry. We deliver high-quality, award-winning products in every memory category: USB flash drives, all popular form factors of memory cards and card readers, DRAM computer memory for PCs and Mac systems, and solid state drives (SSD). We back our products with outstanding customer support and industry-leading warranties, and we strive to expand our offerings to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers-customers just like you.
The Lexar brand has long been synonymous with reliable, high-performance products, which is reflected in the award-winning memory products and USB flash drives sold under the Lexar name.
http://lexar.com/about/index.html
Packaging
All of design work on this product is sleek. Even the packaging comes in a very clean appealing package which draws your eye to the product. On the front of the package, it informs the consumer what type of files this USB drive can store and brags about its high-speed and extreme portability. While other USB flash drives come in clam shell packaging requiring you to have a blade on you to open them, the FireFly is secured in a plastic casing wrapped with cardboard. This allows for extremely simple opening of the item.
One the reverse side it shows what operating systems this USB flash drive is supported on, which are Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Apple OS X. We tested the FireFly on both Windows 7 and OS X and it ran perfectly. Since it is USB mass storage, it will work on any modern operating system.
Specifications
- Cool design and flashy colors
- LED status light
- Available in range of 1GB to 16GB
- Compatible with Mac OSX and Windows XP and up
- Two-year limited warranty
- Newegg Link, Amazon Link
Page 2
Parts
When you open the package you will see the FireFly comes with two pieces, the main device and a cover that protects the USB connector. Although this may not seem like much, it is all you need to start safely storing and transferring files.
The cover has a lanyard tether hole so you can carry it with you constantly. It also is developed to lock into place. This cover is a great feature as it grants you the ability to have the device with you at all times and the locking feature keeps you from worrying about losing it.
Design
The FireFly is designed to be sleek and small, but Lexar did not have to give up any memory space with this small design being that it comes in a 16 GB model. It also comes in various colors with each color representing a different memory size. We reviewed black which is the 2GB model. It is designed with the intent of easy-to-go storage with the ability to be attached to your keys. This makes for simple carrying without worry of forgetting your important documents at home. The device is very lightweight. If you decide to attach it to your keys, you won't be burdened with a heavy and bulky item.
This flash drive is equipped with a blue led status light which pulsates while data is being transferred. This light allows you to see when the transfer is complete, if you decide to pay attention to something else while your files are being transferred. When the FireFly is inactive, the light remains off. Normally, tech companies using blue LEDs tend to gravitate to the blinding, annoying and very bright light type. This device comes with an translucent cap, which dims the color, so it is not extremely bright.
Performance
We used Flash Memory Toolkit to run this test. The test was done on a PC running Windows Vista. Since the FireFly is geared towards average computer users and Lexar does not boast about the read/write speed of the drive, we decided to run the test to give the general public an idea of what this device is capable of.
The performance of the FireFly is nothing to brag about with the read speed averaging 13.4 MB/s and an average write speed of 4.0 MB/s. However, since Lexar never claimed for this to be extremely fast, this test is not to be used as a comparison but as a general idea of what you are getting when you purchase this product.
Conclusion
The Lexar JumpDrive FireFly is an easy, cost effective way to keep, store and transfer your files without hassle. Also, this drive has been developed with style in mind. Though anyone can purchase this drive, being that it is geared for youth, college students will love the FireFly due to its clean and small design. This USB flash drive is not only visually appealing, but comes with performance well suited for the average computer user. The pricing starts at $9.99 for the 2GB and run up to about $45 (Newegg, Amazon) for the 16GB model.
Parts
When you open the package you will see the FireFly comes with two pieces, the main device and a cover that protects the USB connector. Although this may not seem like much, it is all you need to start safely storing and transferring files.
The cover has a lanyard tether hole so you can carry it with you constantly. It also is developed to lock into place. This cover is a great feature as it grants you the ability to have the device with you at all times and the locking feature keeps you from worrying about losing it.
Design
The FireFly is designed to be sleek and small, but Lexar did not have to give up any memory space with this small design being that it comes in a 16 GB model. It also comes in various colors with each color representing a different memory size. We reviewed black which is the 2GB model. It is designed with the intent of easy-to-go storage with the ability to be attached to your keys. This makes for simple carrying without worry of forgetting your important documents at home. The device is very lightweight. If you decide to attach it to your keys, you won't be burdened with a heavy and bulky item.
This flash drive is equipped with a blue led status light which pulsates while data is being transferred. This light allows you to see when the transfer is complete, if you decide to pay attention to something else while your files are being transferred. When the FireFly is inactive, the light remains off. Normally, tech companies using blue LEDs tend to gravitate to the blinding, annoying and very bright light type. This device comes with an translucent cap, which dims the color, so it is not extremely bright.
Performance
We used Flash Memory Toolkit to run this test. The test was done on a PC running Windows Vista. Since the FireFly is geared towards average computer users and Lexar does not boast about the read/write speed of the drive, we decided to run the test to give the general public an idea of what this device is capable of.
The performance of the FireFly is nothing to brag about with the read speed averaging 13.4 MB/s and an average write speed of 4.0 MB/s. However, since Lexar never claimed for this to be extremely fast, this test is not to be used as a comparison but as a general idea of what you are getting when you purchase this product.
Conclusion
The Lexar JumpDrive FireFly is an easy, cost effective way to keep, store and transfer your files without hassle. Also, this drive has been developed with style in mind. Though anyone can purchase this drive, being that it is geared for youth, college students will love the FireFly due to its clean and small design. This USB flash drive is not only visually appealing, but comes with performance well suited for the average computer user. The pricing starts at $9.99 for the 2GB and run up to about $45 (Newegg, Amazon) for the 16GB model.