LEXAR MEDIA 1GB 80x JumpDrive USB 2.0

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Great product!! Very easy to use and portable. Nice way to portably transport data between computers.

Rating:
Summary: Small & Fast, with a Read-Only Switch
Review: I got the drive in early December 2004, and it has been working great since then. So far, the most intensive worked I've done with it was to transfer a dozen gigs worth of files from the my desktop to the laptop, or hauling some files over to a friends house. Everything went without a hitch, and the drive is definetly fast.

One of the things I like about it is its read-only switch; I think this is a very useful feature when you want to read some files from it, without risking getting any viruses from the host computer. It's a good safeguard when using it on someone else's machine, on campus computers, or in any other non-trustworthy environment.

The drive is quite small, and I had no problems in plugging it into the USB ports of more than five desktops (including the frontside of a DELL), and a couple of laptops. In contrary to other brands I've seen other people use, and perhaps even Lexar's older models - this one has a good narow design around the USB connector, so there should be no problems connecting it.

Drawbacks? Well, the read/write switch is hard to access; perhaps Lexar was overly concerned that some users might flip it inadvertently.

A few details for those who wish to know: I have the JD1GB-80-501 model, Revision C (perhaps Lexar modified their codes?). Also, I've formatted it with the NTFS filesystem. Users who are unfamiliar with file permissions in NTFS are better off with FAT32.
The drive comes formatted with FAT16, so I strongly suggest that people reformat it with FAT32, in order to avoid restrictions imposed by FAT16, such as a limit on the number of files in the top directory (that is E:\, if your drive is E:).

Rating:
Summary: Great For Boys Who Are Very Smart And Being A Gentleman
Review: I might get this thing if I get an A in my Englih, Math, Computer, and Dance class. I also can get this thing if a lot of girls like me a lot at school. One of my girlfriends say to me that if I learned how to be a gentleman and get an A in my English, Math, Computer, and Dance class, then a lot of girls like me a lot, and then I can have lots of girlfriends. So, I will buy it when a lot of girls like me. If a lot of girls love to dance with me, then I would bring the JumpDrive with me to the dance with the girls. I would also bring it with me when I go to a party with the girls. You should buy this JumpDrive for your son if your son is being a gentleman, very smart, and many girls liked him.

Rating:
Summary: Okay but won't buy again
Review: I've had the drive for about a year, use it daily and rely on it to handle file backups between work & home. I have had to reformat it twice since I got it, and now it won't hold its format. Even if I can get it reformatted, I don't feel it is reliable. I plan to buy a new one from a different manufacturer, partly because of the problems I've had with it losing its format (and my data!), but also because the curved shape has been a problem from the start. The shape makes it easy to grasp but it makes it too wide to fit into the USB port area on the front of my desktop PC's. I have to use a cable, which makes it less compact/portable. Generally, I like Lexar products (have used their media readers) but I don't plan to buy a flash drive from them again.

Rating:
Summary: Very poor jumpdrive reliability
Review: My Jumpdrive worked for two weeks then died. I waited two days to get an RMA, paid to return the drive, and waited over two weeks for a new one. It only worked for a week.

Lexar refuses to exchange it for a different one, and will only continue to send me the same unreliable product (at my shipping expense). Their quality is far inferior to that of other manufacturers such as PNY.

Rating:
Summary: Great product for anyone in the business
Review: This is a great product - it replaces diskettes and for anyone in a non-networked environment it is essential. I occasionally do consulting for home users and I carry my antivirus, spyware and browser software with me whenever I go to someone's house, not to mention OS patches and device drivers, etc. One customer was so amazed he jumped right online and ordered one for himself. Only drawback - I'm still waiting for a replacement cap from them (they are currently out of stock) so if anyone has an extra one I would sure appreciate it! One caveat - if you need to use it on a Windows 95/98/Me machine and it doesn't have internet access, carry the drivers for it (available from lexarmedia.com) on a diskette - any other machine recognizes it instantly and installs it right away.