Transcend JetFlash V30 16GB

Full Review

This is marked as a value series drive (model number TS16GJFV30), but still manages to perform pretty well in our tests. Using Transcend’s usual design for the V30 series, it is compact, perhaps the most compact among our Top 5. With Transcend’s distribution network, this drive happens to be widely available (from the malls, to every city’s equivalent of Bombay’s Lamington Road). Also, you might be able to bargain at the smaller electronics shops for a price lower than the one printed here. This JetFlash gave a read speed average of 22.8 MBps, read access time average of about 0.7 ms (milli-seconds), and utilized 7 percent of CPU during the benchmark run. On our test bench, real-world read speed tests also showed the same speed as observed in the benchmarks, for large and small files, when files were copied from the flash drive to a fast hard disk drive. Thus, synthetic benchmarks were consistent with real-world speeds in read tests. But write speeds can be better judged through real-world tests. To gauge performance in real world usage, we copied files to the flash drive from a hard disk. Writing large files (over 1 GB in size) to the flash drive results in a speed of 9.69 MBps. The speed of writing multiple small files (1.46 GB, 124 files of varying sizes) declines to 8.08 MBps (as expected). Transcend offers a downloadable software bundle for this pendrive, named JetFlash Elite. This adds value, with features like DataBackup, Secret-Zip encryption, AutoLogin, PC-Lock, Mobile Favorites, Mobile E-mail, Online Update and the My JetFlash browser. The package includes a short lanyard loop, make sure to use it since the drive is so compact and the loop could make it easier to search for it if mis-placed. That this drive doesn’t use a retractable USB connector in its design is subjective – a bad thing if you frequently misplace the cap, and a good thing if you hate how some retractable USB connectors degrade in usability over time. To be sure, this drive’s speeds are not bad compared to the vast majority of consumer flash drives that offer write speeds as low as 4 MBps. Factor in Transcend’s limited lifetime warranty and the good price, and you just can’t complain.

Bottom Line

Has a normal form factor with a plastic casing, is widely available, and is priced very well. Uses compact plastic casing, and includes software for backup, portable settings, PC-lock, etc.