Customer Reviews

Lexar LEHZE8GBASBNA Echo ZE 8 GB USB 2.0 Backup Drive

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I'm not crazy about the design of this drive. It's poorly thought-out. It's small, which is the only positive. But what am I supposed to do with a cap on a drive designed to be plug-and-stay? Put it in a drawer and forget about it? And if I ever do want to take it anywhere, there's absolutely no place to attach a lanyard or keychain or anything. Very user-unfriendly design.

But design limitations aside, let's talk about performance. If it works well, I can live with the design limitations. So I tested it against my other flash drives (I'm running Windows 7).

Backup test - unencrypted (using the included software)
2.8GB, 8200 files
Echo ZE 8GB - 113 minutes
Echo SE 16GB - 16.5 minutes
OCZ Rally2 8GB - 17 minutes

Straight file copy, 1.3GB, 4800 files:
Echo ZE 8GB - 54 minutes
Echo SE 16GB - 7 minutes
OCZ Rally2 8GB - 6.5 minutes
Sandisk Cruzer Titanium 2GB - 11.5 minutes

Then I deleted the files I just copied:
Echo ZE 8GB - gave up after 20 minutes, about 400mb had been deleted. It kept freezing so I just quit.
Echo SE 16GB - 2 minutes
OCZ Rally2 8GB - 2.5 minutes
Sandisk Cruzer Titanium 2GB - 3.5 minutes

So as you can see at this point, the performance is absolutely horrible. It's by far the slowest drive I have ever used. And not just by a little bit. I was ready to give it a 1-star review and call it the worst flash drive ever. But instead I reformatted it to NTFS (it's FAT32 by default) and re-ran the same tests and got these results:

backup - 27 minutes
copy - 10 minutes
delete - 2.5 minutes

A HUGE improvement. Still not fantastic, but at least it's in the ballpark. I'm not sure why I needed to format it to NTFS. All my other flash drives are FAT32.

As for the backup software, it's kinda mediocre. The ability to encrypt and password protect your backups is nice. The backup features are fairly minimal. As another reviewer noted, it doesn't allow you to pick and choose individual files. You either have to choose certain file types or entire folders.

Overall I'd give it 3 stars because the performance (even with NTFS) is only so-so, the backup software is mediocre, the design is lackluster, and I had to figure out on my own that I needed to reformat it just to get average performance. I'd definitely recommend the Echo SE over the ZE. It has all the same functionality with much better performance and a better design (capless, retractable, with a notch for a lanyard).

6/1 - edit
Sorry I made a huge error when I first posted the review. I had all references to the ZE and SE reversed. The SE has superior performance and is the drive that I would recommend, not this one. I've corrected all the typos.

I only have the smallest 8 GB version so it's usefulness as a true backup drive is pretty limited. But first things first. The product arrived and after declaring WAR on the packaging...I actually thought they forgot to ship this unit at first. It is that small! Insert it into the USB port of your choice, and it only protrudes out about 1/4 inch. Simply amazing and makes it so easy to just leave installed at all times. So I plug it in and had a problem right away. The default backup program was not there! It offered me to open to view files, or do a MAC backup, or allow my Windows 7 to do IT'S backup, but no Windows backup (the Lexar Backup that is).

I had to wait till Monday to contact tech support. It is a call paid for by ME, not a toll free call.....it is to Berkeley California. I am put through the expected dozen prompts to get to the correct department (I hoped), and FINALLY, arrive to the correct extension. Now I am on hold for 20 minutes (remember, it is ME paying for this call!) and eventually get a support rep named Dorothy. From India.....NOT happy now and the language barrier is one of my toughest encounters ever with this particular woman. But she turns out to be able (after putting me on hold again while she "researched" my problem), to help me. She gives me the link to the software download I had not been able to find online myself, to allow me to download the proprietary software my unit was missing. But not so fast, have to do a FORMAT of their drive first, and not a quick format, but the ugly kind. Long story short, I eventually got through all the hoops and plugged the drive back in and sure enough, it finally works.

Now if you want one of these tiny drives to really do a REAL backup, I am sure you know that 8 GB is probably not going to be a big enough drive? You may want to consider one of their larger drives instead. But it is so worth the effort to use whichever size, if for no other reason, than to have this hardly even noticeable thing plugged in all the time to backup on the fly. You can schedule your backups, or do the way I am doing, and that is LIVE BACKUPS. Takes care of everything on the fly. It is a completely flexible system, choosing the most important items (to some?) or you can set up specific items to take care of. Love the encryption tool as well. It's just nice to have this very minuscule thing you never even notice, taking care of me when I am being my ordinarily lazy old self! The backups are quick enough, everything now works wonderfully after such a rocky start. I would give it 5 stars but the fact YOU have to pay to call tech support if you have any sort of problem, the fact my unit arrived missing some of the built in software, the fact I have to deal with outsourced support from India, well, I would rate this just 3 stars ordinarily but it just works WAY too well and is WAY too tiny and efficient to not give it 4 stars. Just remember to buy as much as you need. I didn't need more to use it for my intended purpose. I only need to back up documents and a couple other items so it's just perfect for me.

This little backup is AWESOME!!! I was a bit skeptical when I purchased this but figured I would use it as a flash drive if it didn't work as stated on the product page on Amazon.com. This powerhouse is more than what it says on line. I plugged it in and it immediately went to work on my Mac. I clicked on the files I wanted it to backup and I was DONE! I am famous for not saving my PPT files or my excel files, having my system crash and losing all my hard work. I set this up so it saves a copy of my work every 10 minutes - and it will backup 5 versions!!! This is so great - and I leave it in my computer!! This is seriously the easiest and coolest backup I have ever used!

Probably not. But, this is the best drive I've owned. It's fast, reliable and small. And small is a VERY good feature; it's barely bigger than the USB connector. Can't speak to the software; as I don't use it. But the drive is perfect. Buy one. Or two.

First let me say that this drive is noticably slower than other "pico" usb flash drives. I noticed an access delay in Windows 7 immediately and on the same PC I compared reads to HP v115w (16GB) and my Lacie MosKeyto 8GB (which I wanted to replace with this drive due to fears of the LaCie failing after reading many reviews). This drive is fast writing, very slow reading, slower than both other drives and the access times are horrible, in the full seconds for files larger than 200mb.

Now on to the BIGGER issue, this drive on occasion will cause a blue screen on my 2010 AMD Phenom II laptop within a few seconds if I attempt to read a large file. The good old blue screen of death occurs due to a "bad_pool_caller" error, which is attributed to either 1)Bad hardware (memory chip) or 2) Bad software (hardware driver), in either case this is the offending device.

If you are an occasional user, looking for some kind of one time backup and forget it device, maybe this will work for you, but if you are a daily user and will store and read medium to large sized files, I would suggest looking elsewhere.

Hard to remove this from some PCs because of the little smooth stub that you have to try to grab. For me, the tiny housing eventually came loose and I pulled it off the drive instead of removing the drive. Had to remove with needle nose pliers. Super glued it back on but it happened again and again, the last time with the drive going completely dead. Sure, its tiny -- but thats a problem. A bigger housing would make the inner chip more secure, easier to grip and remove, and far less likely to fall apart. Its sure looks nifty but in the long run its poor design. Right now I lost all my data and it has to go in the trash.

It's been a while since I've purchased a usb drive. They have sure come a long way - much larger and faster than they used to be. Will copy 1GB in ~2 minutes. I've only owned for a couple days but am very happy so far. We'll see if it holds up. It's extremely compact which is exactly what I needed (will stay put in the machine I put it in). The small size may not be good if you are looking for a portable drive though - you may lose it and it does not have a key-ring attachment.

Update (3 days after purchase). I originally raved about this product, but have to change my 5 star rating to a 1 star. The product still works (on SOME computers). I've got several identical AMD systems using ASUS motherboards (m2a-vm) and windows xp. This drive FAILS on every system - usually within 1 minute of starting a copy operation. I don't know what the culprit is but the failure is the same. Windows pops up with a delayed write failure. It continues to work on win XP using an ASUS board with an INTEL processor. Reformatting to NTFS does not help. I do not use the "backup" software included on the stick. I'm simply copying files over (large files, but that shouldn't matter).

I can copy these same files to any other usb stick or external hard drive on these same AMD systems with NO problems.

As a data protection system for your laptop, this flash drive completely delivers on it promises. Though, I still found there were a couple of additional considerations that didn't necessarily make it the all-in-one perfect flash drive solution for me. Here's the upsides and considerations of it I found to help you decide if it's for you:

UPSIDES:
- No-effort automatic data protection that provides great peace of mind!
I've always saved my laptop data on a regular flash drive manually, whenever I'm working on a project or just happen to think of it. This does it automatically, and it does it behind the scenes - saving the files you modify as you go along without slowing down your computer. So, my odds have improved infinitely that the next time I lose a document mid-stream, I'll have the latest version saved!

- Backs-up data to your specifications:
You can elect, for example, for it to save multiple versions - so you don't lose the original one that you might be still playing around with in a different version. The set-up is extremely easy - just plug it in and make a few selections - than leave it in your computer and let it take the work and worry away from you.

SOME CONSIDERATIONS(depending on your preferences).
- It's really designed to be a permanent back-up fixture in your USB port, not for transferring data regularly between computers.
My laptop only has two USB ports, but generally I've always kept a flash drive in one of them when using it to back-up data and transfer files. If you generally have your USB ports filled with other items when you're using it, you'll want to think twice on this one. It's the size of my thumb nail, and, at least for me, taking it out too often to transfer data or other items is an invitation to lose it. So, I still use another flash drive when transferring or working on documents between computers.

- The data protection only covers you if your computer crashes- not if your laptop is lost or stolen.
If you do as you're supposed to and leave it in all of the time, if your laptop gets lost or stolen, all your backup data goes with it. Again, you could take it out everytime you shut down - but it's small size makes that a slippery slope.

During set-up it does offer a promotion from DMobile for a free 2GB of automatic web-based back-up (it's $30/mo. or so if you go over that amount), that would at least protect some of your data. I passed on that, but since I travel w/ mine, and have had a friend had his laptop stolen - I still monthly transfer all the data to another flash drive that I keep at home.

BOTTOM LINE: 4+ Stars! For anyone that has lost, or worries about losing, their work mid-stream on their laptop and wants some hassle-free peace of mind this is a great option. Though, for some folks I'd still recommend considering keeping another flash drive handy for working between computers and avoiding lost data if your laptop is lost or stolen.

I use this USB device without any problem during couple of months for my Kenwood KDC-X494 car audio.
It is super compact and looks like radio built-in knob.
It is very convenient device for this goal.
The write speed isn't faster than similar device (MicroSD flash card and so on).
My PC needs approximately 20-25 minutes to write this 8 GB of music from hard drive to this Lexar ZE drive (Intel i3-530 processor).
I do it several times after reformatting my audio library on the PC.

After using it for a few days, it slows down my MacBook Pro 17" laptop, and it has crashed already once today (as it did yesterday); it draws down my available hard drive space, too. Unfortunately, it's way more trouble than its worth. I'm getting a refund.