Lexar JumpDrive Lightning 2 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive JDP2GB-231

by Lexar

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.2 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0007O7DTA
• Item model number: JDP2GB-231
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 14, 2005

Product Description

JumpDrive Lightning is Lexar's premium JumpDrive product offering the highest speed, distinctive design in a stylish stainless steel case, and value-added software features. It is ideal for business professionals, power users or anyone looking for high performance and style in a portable storage solution. The pre-loaded software application provides convenience and peace of mind with file synchronization and data security features. And since the application runs entirely from the JumpDrive there is no need to install any software on any computer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do not buy this, August 8, 2005

By 

RWI (Washington, D.C Area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lexar JumpDrive Lightning 2 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive JDP2GB-231 (Personal Computers)

I purchased 5 of these for a group of people that work in our lab (total ~$1200). The first day I tried to use mine, a piece of plastic that holds the usb plug in the housing broke, and shortly thereafter, the entire plug pulled out easily, exposing the internals. It was within 30 days, so I sent it back to Amazon for a replacement, which they shipped right away. The first time I went to use the new one, the same thing happened. It is still w/in 30 days, so I am looking to send all 5 back for refund.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great flash drive even with small files, June 25, 2006

By 

Poobah48 (Sparks, NV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lexar JumpDrive Lightning 2 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive JDP2GB-231 (Personal Computers)

The Lexar JumpDrive Lightning 2GB flash drive has very impressive performance ratings of 160X (24MB/sec) sustained Read and 120X (18MB/sec) sustained Write speed capability. This is one of the very few USB drives that lists the Read/Write speed capabilities.

The "reality" of flash drives is that the smaller the file size, the slower the transfer rate will be.

I ran some tests with the Lightning to see what the transfer rate and the elapsed time is for groups of various file sizes:
* 433MB 784 medium files, avg. 550KB 12X 4 min. 3 sec.
* 483MB 81 large files, avg. 6MB 54X 59 seconds
* 1GB 1 very large file 115X 58 seconds

So, even though the Write speed capability of the Lightning is 120X, the transfer rate drops to 12X with medium size files, which is fairly "real-world" usage.

But, don't let that dissuade you from considering the Lightning: The higher the "speed capability" of the device, the better the transfer rate will be and the less time it will take to transfer those smaller files.

To prove this point, I took one of my "great deal" CF cards (that had no speed ratings) that tops out at 36X Read / 7X Write, and ran two of the same tests:
* 433MB 784 medium files 3X 15 min. 10 sec.
* 483MB 81 large files 7X 7 min. 48 sec.

So, compared to the Lightning, the "great deal!" card took nearly 4 times longer to Write the medium files and 8 times longer to Write the large files. So, which is the better deal when you use the device over and over and over...

Whether you are shopping for a card or a stick for digital cameras or a USB flash drive, if the performance numbers are not specified, BEWARE! What you might think is a great deal may get you a device with very poor performance that you will regret purchasing. I know, I have several in my drawer.

So, my bottom-line advice is: Look for the highest-rated device you can find. Flash devices will last a looong time and our file sizes and amount of data will only grow! So "future-proof" your purchase by shopping for a high-rated and large capacity for now and the future.

(I have no relationship with Lexar or the Flash memory industry.)

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very poor workmanship and materials, May 10, 2006

By 

James "Jim" (Peoria, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lexar JumpDrive Lightning 2 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive JDP2GB-231 (Personal Computers)

We purchased 21 of these. 20 out of the lot are defective. The Lightning "Jump Drives" have a rubber/plastic molding that holds the front and back of the jump drive together. The cap is built the same way. Upon removing the drives from the package, and removing the caps, most of them cracked and parts of the plastic fell off. We contacted Lexar (brush up on your Indian language skills before calling) and did not get anywhere with them..... I would NOT recommend buying from Lexar. We returned the products to PC Mall, and exchanged them for SanDisk Cruzer Titaniums. MUCH BETTER!