Lexar, a company specializing in memory storage, is first in line to introduce the largest capacity thumbdrive on the market. The Lexar Echo MX Backup Drive can store up to 128GB of files and data on a thumbdrive that can easily be carried on a keychain or in your wallet. This amount of storage is huge – the data from an entire laptop could fit on this drive. In addition to its large storage capacity this thumbdrive has some neat features. Additionally, the price has been dramatically reduced to around $200 from its initial debut earlier this year at $400.
A cool feature about this thumbdrive is that once it’s plugged in it provides automatic and continuous back-up using the built-in Lexar Echo software. This software works to provide automatic back-ups for files in use and will restore saved versions of files on either a Mac or PC platform. Once the thumbdrive is plugged in it will update the storage capacity available – the meter is integrated into the thumbdrive itself and is always on to easily show how much room is left on the drive. This product comes with five different storage capacities to fit the consumers need – ranging from 8GB up to 128GB.
Dong Ngo reviewed this product on CNet.com and had some complaints about it. His first criticism was that the quality of the materials used to manufacture the product didn’t match the price point. Ngo found that the sleeve cap that covers the head of the USB drive seemed really flimsy and that the casing of the drive could easily be scratched by a key. Additionally, Ngo points out that the USB 2.0 connection is slower than products that offer USB 3.0 and the 128-bit encryption featured on the Lexar model is not as secure as a thumbdrive that offers 256-bit AES encryption.
Since the Lexar model has been introduced, several other 128GB thumbdrives have come out on the market, including models offered by Patriot, Kingston, Corsair, and Kanguru. These newer models appear to be more durable by design and the majority of them have an aluminum casing to protect the thumbdrive from scratches. Despite its apparent flimsy design the Lexar Echo MX is the cheapest and the only one to offer the always on storage meter. Also, the Lexar model is the only product to include automatic back-up software.
The bottom line – if you have a netbook or a notebook and need to carry your documents and data with you the Lexar Echo MX is a great way to back-up your files. However, with technology constantly evolving and new products always coming out on the market be sure to do your homework and find the model that works best for you – both for your usage requirements and your budgetary constraints.
