Silicon Power Jewel J80

[testman78]

Introduction

In examining the flash industry over the past eight years,I don't think many would argue that there has been insurmountable growth,paired with enough growing pains and obstacles along the way to frustrate even the best in the business.Flash technology has grown so fast that today it would be seemingly impossible to find anyone not tied to flash in some way.Silicon Power,the world's leading provider of memory storage solutions,recently unveils the latest collection of metallic USB 3.0 flash drive -Jewel J80.Inheriting from the Northern Europe design concept of Firma F80,Jewel J80 embraces the post-modernism style and sophisticated metal-casing craftsmanship.The drive has both an unusual shape and a metallic casing instead of the regular plastic flash drives commonly use.The company wanted it to adopt a "modernism style", hence the metal casing and the integration of the lanyard hole into the case itself.While the incredible design of Firma F80 has won great recognitions from international design awards,such as reddot design award 2013,Jewel J80 makes it more perfect with the use of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface that realizes the wonderful combination of style and capability.In addition, Jewel J80 offers complete data protections against water,dust and vibration by applying the COB(Chip On Board)technology,which is able to keep the golden finger away from damages caused by outer forces.



The Silicon Power Jewel J80 boasts the USB 3.0 interface standard, which means that while the Universal Serial Bus controller fits any USB port, past and present (like USB 2.0 and USB 1.1), it's USB 3.0 ports that will allow the drive to work best.The company didn't actually specify the transfer speeds you can look forward to, mostly because no one does it much for these storage units, unless they're really fast.In order to satisfy users different needs for storage capacity,Jewel J80 is available in 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB and is backed by a lifetime warranty.




Packaging & Contents

The packaging for the Jewel J80 is your typical simple cardboard/plastic combo hang tag.It allows it to be hung from racks in store in large quantities, as well as pack up nicely for shipping in a bubble envelope.There really doesn't need to be much packaging for a thumb drive,mostly just enough to keep you from losing it with your other purchases,and keeping losers from stealing them.In this case,the packaging keeps it simple.The front of the packaging is mostly white.The Silicon Power logo is in the upper left with a quick size/sanity check of 64GB on the right.It's not marked as a screaming fast drive,but we shall see when it comes to the numbers.The lower portion of the packaging shows off compatibility with Windows 8 printed in black.The front is finished off with a lifetime guarantee stamp in the lower right corner.We are told a lot here on the front, despite the appearance of so little.



The main features of the unit are printed at the rear in several languages.Since the Jewel J80 was designed to fit your keychain there's no lanyard in the bundle.




A Closer Look

The reduced size form factor of this USB flash drive is achieved through the use of COB (chip on board) technology ensuring the drive remains water, dust, and shock resistant.



The SP Jewel J80 has a capless design and a metallic zinc alloy gray case that makes it look like a fashion accessory.The body of this is made of a golden colored zinc alloy, made to be waterproof.This drive will supposedly last forever,as SP has given this product a lifetime warranty.



The top of the drive has the micro USB interface,the bottom has the USB interface,the front has the SP logo,and the back has the certifications from the CE and FCC.



Jewel J80 incorporates functionality with enhanced design.The circular shape on the end makes it easy to grasp and fit onto a keychain.



The Jewel J80 features a ring shaped metallic unibody exterior in silver gray.The robust zinc alloy case is sand blasted to create a metallic shine and can resist scratches and fingerprint marks from daily usage.



Normally, the hole is small, just enough for the strap or key chain to go through,but you can probably fit a fingertip inside this one. It will let you play with it while you wait for something or other,if nothing else.



I found an added bonus of this keyring hole was that it made it easy to insert and remove the drive.




SP Widget

A free-to-download utility(SP Widget) is to be found on the Silicon Power website, which contains multiple functions to the drive.



We can sync and backup any folders from the internal drive.



We can choose to encrypt or decrypt the data stored on the drive.



We can backup My Favorites folder, Outlook Email contents or different tasks.



The software also comes with a “PC-Lock” function.



The SP Widget app can be also updated from the same interface.



Finally, with the utility we can also change the language of the interface or scan the drive contents.




Test System and Benchmarks

My test configuration as follows:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k @ 4.60GHz
CPU Cooling:Noctua NH-U14S
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77
RAM:Kingston Hyper X Blu 2x4GB
Graphics: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 2GB OC
Chassis:Nanoxia DS6
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 240GB/Western Digital Caviar Blue AAKS 500GB
Power: Antec Platinum 1000w
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1



From an all-around point of view,Silicon Power have clearly made a very strong product when we look at the complete picture.The speeds aren’t the fastest,but it is USB 3.0 and that is certainly a step in the right direction,especially when we look at other similar devices within the marketplace,as they are typically USB 2.0 and are therefore generally slower when comparing both read and write speeds.



After seeing the theoretical max read and write speeds of the drive, it’s time to find out what we can hit within CrystalDiskMark.
The Jewel J80 64GB scored 124/19 MB/s in the sequential read/write tests.These speeds are average for a USB 3.0 drive.The performance profile for this drive favours reading over writing but overall the balance is acceptable.




Conclusion

The Silicon Power Jewel J80 flash drive is a well designed and relatively high capacity drive that works great.Love the aluminum feature instead of the flimsy,breakable units.It survived water being poured on it,as the drive is in fact waterproof.It is also dust proof and shock proof.I did some drop tests at various heights,even about 20 feet,and the drive survived it all without showing even a scratch. Needless to say,this drive is extremely durable and of high quality - perfect for placement on a keychain where it’s stuffed in a pocket or used in inclement weather.This drive fits very easily on my existing keychain, and is about the size of a regular sized key.I have about 5-10 things on my key ring,and I had no trouble using the drive in my computer with the keys hanging off the rest of the key ring.Setup is not necessary for this device, as any USB port (USB 1.1/2.0/3.0) and operating system (Windows, Mac, and Linux) should automatically detect and use the device.And while the write speeds could certainly be faster, they should be fine for most people, and the good read speeds should make up for that.


You'll be able to find it in 8 GB, 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB capacities, bundled with the SP Widget software (backup and security) and a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security.The Recuva File Recovery technology will let you even restore accidentally deleted files.A gem of a device from Silicon Power incorporating a small form factor with USB 3.0 technology while remaining durable and stylish too and with a good price point(30 US Dollars),you won’t find a better similar device for the same amount of money.