1. Features
Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules released the "Luxio" series of USB Flash drives . The name itself reveals the company's effort to offer increased storage capacities but also a stylish and sleek mobile storage solution. But there's a lot more to Luxio than meets the eye.
These small drives store up to 64GB of data -- as many as 20,000 six megapixel photos. The specifications of the Luxio drives include transfer rates as high as 200X (30MB/sec), AES-256 hardware Encryption and a custom made leather carrying case . The Luxio series come in three different colors black, silver and wood grain.
| Capacities: |
16GB - 64GB |
| Dimension: |
21 mm x 76.5 mm x 9.5 mm |
| Technical Details: |
- Full compatibility with USB 1.1 and 2.0
- Dual channel flash memory architecture
- Hot plug and play
- Supports password protection
- Supports ReadyBoost
- AES-256 hardware Encryption included (User Manual)
- Custom black leather carrying case included
- No driver needed for most operating systems (Windows 98SE driver available online)
- LED indicates power, busy
- More than 10 years data retention
- Limited lifetime warranty |
- Package
We have in our hands the Luxio Wood Grain 64GB Flash drive, which is priced at around $140 over Newegg.com.
The drive comes in a luxurious package that reminds us of the packages found at the shelves of cosmetic shops.
Two magnets placed at the bottom of the package keep the box closed. Into the box we found the USB drive and a leather case, both carefully placed in a plastic foam panel.
The Luxio 64GB USB drive is rather long (7cm), at least compared with other USB drives.
The external shell is made out of hard plastic with special paint, although we would like to see a more solid structure here.
SuperTalent has obviously focused on the design of this product, which some female users could find attractive to use in their office.
The protection cap cannot be secured at the back of the flash drive once has been removed nor any keychain is available to hold the cap, so make sure you do not loose it.
The only indication about the size of the USB flash drive is available on the side of the drive (64GB):
It takes some more force to open the cap than what we have experienced until now with other USB flash drives.
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2. Benchmarks, SecureLock software
The USB flash was easily recognized under Windows after plugging it to our PC.
Two PDF manuals as well as an encryption software (SecureLock) are pre-installed on the drive. The total capacity is 62GB and the available capacity is more than 55GB, according to Windows:
For the first performance test we used the HD Tach v3.0.1.0 and selected the full length test:
The full bench test scans the entire capacity of the module and provides a graph with the s average reading/writing performance. However, the benchmark could not start without disabling the "Enable Write Test" feature. As a result, we just got measurements for the reading task:
Reading started at 32MB/sec but soon after the 12GB mark it dropped to 24MB/sec, resulting an average reading speed of 25MB/sec.
The Sisoft Sandra Software gave a much lower performance for reading (18.30MB/sec):
We also used the like HD Tune Pro 3.50 software but still, we could not enable the write tests. The reported reading speed was 17 MB/sec:
FInally we used the ATTO Disk Benchmark, which reports the transfer rates of the flash memory using files of different sizes. We cannot easily trust these results since they look quite optimistic for a flash drive. For example, the 8MB file test gave 30MB/sec for reading and 23MB for writing:
The CrystalDiskMark utility also gave 31.79MB/sec and 19.15MB/sec for the sequential reading and writing tests, respectively:
Finally, we used the SecureLock encryption software which comes pre installed with the drive as we previously mentioned. The software can be used to set password protection to a "hidden" partition the flash drive.
The first window of the software is simple and gives information about the status of the flash drive.
Here you can also set or change the password, adjust the partition size of the drive or even disable the password.
You can manually set the capacity of the secure area of the flash drive using the slider, as you can see in the screenshot below. For extra security, you can even secure the complete available 64GB:
The password for the secure area can be changed as many times as you wish. The software also provides a password hint that would help you remember it easier.
We should note here that the SecureLock tool will partition the disk to 2 partitions when password set in first time use. As a result, all the data will be deleted, so make sure to backup any data stored to the drive before setting the password.
3. Final words
The Luxio series of flash drives combine style with increased storage capacity and usability.
The 64GB version we tested today is more than enough for the needs of the average user. The AES-256 hardware encryption conveniently controlled through the SecurLock software and ensures the safety of your data.
Flash drives generally don't come with fancy accessories, but the Luxio series includes a form fit leather case that keeps with the luxury feel. SuperTalent obviously had in their mind female users when they designed the drive, which is well packaged and could be easily match with staff found on the business bag of an office lady.
We were slightly confused by the conflicting numbers we got from the various benchmarking software we used. These showed a 17~32MB/sec performance for reading and 19~24MB/sec for writing. we think that the truth lays somewhere in the middle, so the performance is adequate for a 64GB flash drive.
The Luxio is also one of the few drives that carry a Limited Lifetime Warranty, definitely a plus since we are talking about a large drive that you will want to use for many years to come.
The drive retails at ~$140, which is a decent price for this capacity and retail package.
Positive
- Great capacity (64GB)
- Good performance
- Slick appearance
- Lifetime warranty
- AES security
- Decent price
Negative
- No lanyard
- The glossy finish attracts fingerprints and smudges
- No place to store the cap when in use