What is this?
As Lexar's flagship USB flash drive, the JumpDrive Lightning 1GB is incased in a chrome-sprayed body, which you can clean it with bundled polishing cloth. Performance wise, it is company's first thumbdrive to hit 22MB/s read and 15MB/s write. Additionally, the Lightning protects data via 256-bit AES, and keeps files sync'ed with pre-loaded software.
Pros: Unique, distinctive looks; 256-bit AES encryption; comprehensive help file; laser engraving for free from Lexar directly.
Cons: Weird cap problem; stingy on accessories except for the polishing cloth.
Verdict: If this is a beauty contest, the Lexar JumpDrive Lightning will take home the tiara, but the cap problem and rather slow small-file transfer rate bump the flash drive to first runner up.
Lexar literally tried everything on their flash drives to get our attentions. It was the first to jump on the USB 2.0 bandwagon with their JumpDrive Pro 2.0. Later on, it started putting cross-platform encryption and file sync on the JumpDrive Secure and Traveler respectively. More recently, JumpDrive got a boost in security with fingerprint authentication. Now, Lexar's attention has turned to improving the looks of JumpDrive with the Lightning-series which is recognized by a very distinctive stainless steel case with plastic inside housing the NAND memory and controller.
JumpDrive Lightning-series comprises of 512MB, 1GB and 2GB. We tested the 1GB.
Shiny Toy for the Executives The JumpDrive Lightning measures at 3" x 0.87" x 0.43", and is on par with the larger sized flash drives like the Kingston Data Traveler and Sandisk Cruzer Titanium. The size isn't particularly an issue; at least you'll know you're holding onto something. The shiny drive definitely has our attention upon first sight. It has more or less the affection that we have for the Apple iPod. Anyway, we carried the drive like a necklace (neck strap not provided), wandered in the downtown area, and got people staring at or envying our Lightning. Suffice to say, the Lightning with the recipient's name engraved on the back is a nice gift to your boss at X'mas time.
The Lightning may look tough, but while it's in our crowded bag, the plastic layer inside the stainless steel cap cracked. Since then the cap kept falling off; so there's no way to securely snap the cap to the body anymore. After discussing with Lexar's 24/7 chatline, we were offered to get a new cap from the company directly, a cost of course. Unfortunately, the cap apparently wasn't protected under the lifetime limited warranty. This fault could be just an isolated incident hopefully.
Lightning's Dashboard Beyond the handsome looks, the JumpDrive Lightning ships with three handy programs providing file sync, 256-bit AES encrypted drive partitioning; and file encryption. Our first test machine was the Traditional Chinese version of Windows XP, and already we stumbled upon something odd. Well, we were greeted with a friendly dashboard in Chinese, but we found out later there's no way to override the language setting back to English unless the Lightning software is loaded on a English Windows XP or 2000. This could become a minor annoyance to some travelers who use whatever PC they come across.
The file sync overall did the job well for us. You can choose to sync with different folders or files manually or automatically. It even has a few well thought out options such as file filters, synchronization with a secure partition and compensation for Daylight Savings Time. Creating a secure partition is just like other similar software except Lexar conveniently creates an additional drive icon for the protected drive. Accessing the 256-bit AES encrypted content requires you to log in as an admin.
Lastly, the file encryption basically protects one or more file by the same AES algorithm, and you must access the dashboard from the same JumpDrive Lightning in order to decrypt them. A comprehensive help system, in Microsoft's .chm format, has proved to be extremely useful. Considering the price, we would expect a bit more from the software, such as bookmark sync and Internet activity 'cleaner'.
Lightning Speed, but Not Always Unlike image media like CompactFlash and Secure Digital, USB flash drives often deal with smaller files or anything below 1MB. In our read tests, the Lexar flied at 23MB/s at 2MB, managed to hit the claimed 22MB/s at 256kB, and dropped to 14MB at 32kB. These numbers are pretty good when sync'ing files back to the PC. However, the speeds at writing files on the Lightning plunged as the files get smaller. The Lexar almost reached 12MB/s at 64MB, 9MB/s at 2MB, 3MB/s at 256kB, and just 0.44MB at 32kB.
Looking at these numbers, 14MB/s (32kb read) versus 22MB/s (64MB read), and 0.44MB (32kB write) versus 12MB/s (64MB write), the JumpDrive Lightning is more effective at handling large file transfers.
SiSoftware Sandra Benchmark Results Combined Index : 1999 operation(s)/min
Endurance Factor : 8.8
512B Files Test : 2266 operation(s)/min
32kB Files Test : 2225 operation(s)/min
256kB Files Test : 1652 operation(s)/min
2MB Files Test : 482 operation(s)/min
64MB Files Test : 18 operation(s)/min
Performance Test Status
Run ID : **** on Tuesday, 19 July, 2005 at 21:31:04
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : No
Extras Lost a USB cable? Get a replacement USB cable.
Running out of USB ports? Get an extra USB hub.
You may need a new USB card to achieve Hi-Speed USB speeds.
Confirm with our USB 2.0 FAQ if you have Hi-Speed USB on your PC.
The JumpDrive Lightning measures at 3" x 0.87" x 0.43", and is on par with the larger sized flash drives like the 
Beyond the handsome looks, the JumpDrive Lightning ships with three handy programs providing file sync, 256-bit AES encrypted drive partitioning; and file encryption. Our first test machine was the Traditional Chinese version of Windows XP, and already we stumbled upon something odd. Well, we were greeted with a friendly dashboard in Chinese, but we found out later there's no way to override the language setting back to English unless the Lightning software is loaded on a English Windows XP or 2000. This could become a minor annoyance to some travelers who use whatever PC they come across.
