All about electronics: Lexar JumpDrive P10

Lexar JumpDrive P10

Performance

We were very impressed with the P10's performance. In our testing, it averaged a sequential read speed of 208MBps and sequential write speed of 197MBps. It's the write speed that's important here, because it blows away any other USB flash drive on our lineup. The second fastest write speed belongs to the SanDisk Extreme, and that drive only manages 91MBps.

With such high read and write speeds, transferring large files to and from the JumpDrive P10 is noticeably faster than it is with most other flash drives on the market. While this is the best overall performer on our lineup, you definitely pay for that performance. Expect to pay $1.60 per gigabyte with the P10. Some of the other drives we looked at go for as little as 60 cents per gigabyte, so you'll need to decide if the substantial performance gains are worth your money.

While the JumpDrive P10's 4K read speed is respectable at 9MBps, its 4K write speed only averaged 1.9MBps in our testing. While that's better than many USB flash drives, it's somewhat paltry compared to the SanDisk Extreme's 7MBps 4K write speed. What this means is that you can certainly run applications off of the P10, but if that's the reason you want a USB flash drive, you should take a look at drives that have better 4K read and write performance.

Design & Features

If design is an important feature in a USB flash drive for you, this memory stick is sure to please. It's sleek and black with a high-gloss mirror finish. It also has a metal alloy base, which makes it heavier than most comparable flash drives. This one weighs in at 2.1 ounces – substantially heavier than our top-rated flash drive.

The slippery finish combined with the weightier body make this drive easy to drop. Because it lacks a protective casing, the drive is more susceptible to accidental damage than other flash drives. If you tend to be clumsy, you might want to sacrifice the good looks of this drive for something more rugged. After all, you don't want to spend a fair amount of money on a nice USB flash drive and have it break quickly.

The P10 comes in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB versions. The larger versions perform slightly better than the smaller ones. We tested the 32GB version, which gives us a good idea of how the other capacities would perform. We're happy that the 128GB version exists, because a drive that performs as quickly as this one is bound to be used frequently. It's not exactly hard to fill 64GB of storage with various kind of media.

Lexar is known for its reliability and compatibility, and its memory cards, card readers and USB flash drives all go through extensive testing. Outside of reliability and speed, however, the JumpDrive P10 is missing some features. For example, a cloud backup option would be very nice, as it would help keep your data in more than one place, but you won't find that here. Its retractable connector is handy if you tend to lose caps easily, though, and it's compatible with PCs and Macs.

Help & Support

The JumpDrive P10 comes with a limited lifetime warranty. If you need technical support, you can contact Lexar by telephone, email or instant chat. The company also posts some support information on its website, such as FAQs. Additionally, you can find Lexar on Twitter and Facebook.

- See more at: http://www.toptenreviews.com/computers/storage/best-usb-flash-drives/lexar-p10-review/#sthash.HR3Obfwm.dpuf