INTRODUCTION

   Up until recently the only high performance USB 3.0 compatible flash drives in the market where either average or quite large in size making it somewhat difficult to carry around and especially on a keychain. Personally I’ve always carried a USB flash drive on my keychain so i know firsthand how much of a role size plays when choosing the right one for the job so although performance is crucial for me i have to admit that size is even more important. Lately however things have changes so quite a few manufacturers including Kingston and Patriot have begun releasing very small USB 3.0 drives with very good performance levels. Silicon Power is one of those manufacturers that never falls behind in new things so it was just a matter of time really before they released their own tiny USB 3.0 drive and so today we will be taking a look at the Jewel J10 32GB model.

   Silicon Power Computer & Communications Inc., founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic specialists in International Business, Global Marketing, and Technical Engineering of flash data storage industry. Well dedicated in brand image and product quality, Silicon Power has been recognized and well accepted by millions of end-users in more than 100 countries, becomes the world's leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, card readers, DRAM modules, solid state disks, and portable hard drives in less than a decade. Headquartered in Taipei, we continuously established various branches throughout the world including Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Mainland China and other emerging market to reach the worldwide market. Silicon Power's overall performance has gradually drawn great attention worldwide. In 2006, we received Taiwan Rising Star Award for our foreign business achievement. In 2008, we won 17th National Outstanding Small & Medium Enterprise Award for our outstanding progress. Moreover, with superior quality and innovative design, our products stood out in several competitions and awarded Taiwan Excellence and COMPUTEX Design & Innovation Award in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Winning trust of global consumers, Silicon Power holds a record of successive double-digit revenue growth for last seven years. According to the Common Wealth Magazine's 2010 Survey of Taiwan Top 1000 Manufacturers, our 2009 revenue growth rate was ranked No.11 among Taiwan's top 1000 manufacturers, and even ranked No.1 in semiconductor industry. Positioned as Passionate, Creative and Hungry for Success, Silicon Power introduces products for users who are seeking individualized, unique and personal digital storage devices. With the mission of creating unprecedented experience for users, Silicon Power will endeavor to deliver a full range of high quality products that have innovative designs, distinctly unique features and comprehensive after sales services to create and fulfill your personal memory.

   The cap-less Jewel J10 USB 3.0 Flash Drive by Silicon Power is currently available in silver color and in three different capacities (8GB/16GB/32GB/64GB) so that pretty much describes most similar solutions currently in the market. However Silicon Power took things a step further and so according to them the stainless steel housing of the Jewel J10 is not only scratch resistant but it's also water, dust, shock and vibration proof. However although i can certainly understand the shock and vibration proof claim it's somewhat hard for me to imagine how a cap-less USB Flash Drive can be both dust and water proof. It goes without saying that during this review we didn't try our luck by putting it in the dirt or in water since we require our samples to be in working condition for future comparisons (we would if for example it had a rugged housing) but regardless of that i still feel that no one should try that. Performance and size is what we care mostly about so let's see if the Jewel J10 delivers.