INTRODUCTION

   If you happen to need lots of storage capacity while on the go then the smart and most affordable thing to do is either to get an 2.5" portable hard drive or one of the larger 3.5" desktop drives (although the first is obviously preferable thanks to size and the lack of need for an external power supply the 2nd can offer much higher capacities at least currently). The last and least affordable solution is to get one of the highest capacity USB flash drives available in the market but since that's really not a valid choice for most people lower capacity models can offer good value for your money and can even get you out of tough situations. The Jewel J06 is one of the latest USB 3.0 flash drives to hit the market by our friends over at Silicon Power and we just happened to take the 64GB variant for a spin not long ago.

   Silicon Power Computer & Communications Inc., founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic specialists of flash data storage industry. Well dedicated in brand image and product quality, SP 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. With superior quality and innovative design, our products stood out in several competitions and awarded Taiwan Excellence and COMPUTEX Design & Innovation Award in 2009 and 2010. Winning trust of global consumers SP holds a record of successive double-digit revenue growth for last seven years. For SP, the product we introduced is not only a digital storage device but also a real promise to create and preserve your most valuable memory in every moment.

   The J06 is available in 8/16/32/64GB capacities and much like the rest of the Jewel line of USB flash drives by Silicon Power it features a tiny enclosure (primarily made out of hard plastic) which takes almost no space at all and can be easily attached onto your keychain. The J06 may "lack" the flashy approach Silicon Power took with some of the other Jewel models but it looks nice and sports USB 3.0 connectivity (as expected really) so we're certain it has a suitable target audience. Size and appearance however are two things you can check just by looking at something so let's see how well it does in the area consumers simply can't see, performance.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE JEWEL J06 64GB

As usual the drive arrived inside a regular package which allows you to check it from the front and has the features list and OS compatibility list at the rear.

The 24mm long, 16mm wide and 8.5mm thick Jewel J06 USB flash drive was the only thing inside the package.

So how large is the J06? Well as you can clearly tell it's perhaps the smallest USB 3.0 compatible flash drive we've ever received.

A 2D barcode is present at the rear of the drive.

There's also plenty of room to attach the drive onto a lanyard or your keychain.

The USB plug is protected by a large cap as you can see from the above picture (the cap is actually more than half the size of the drive.

A unique serial/part number is engraved at the rear of the USB plug.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Since flash drives are basically plain storage media devices just like solid state drives and hard disk drives we are using almost the same testing methodology to successfully record the achieved performance numbers. The benchmark suites used are HD Tach RW (Read Speeds / Long Bench 32mb Zone Testing), HD Tune Pro (Read speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read / Write speeds), AIDA 64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear Read / Random Read speeds), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB-1000MB Read / Write speeds) and finally ATTO (Max Read / Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average performance numbers are recorded into our charts (0 = we were unable to complete that test).

   All tests are performed with our main rig running Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 Service Pack 1 complete with every update until January 12th 2015. As always for comparison purposes in the charts you will also find many other flash drivers which have been tested using the same exact test bench as the one in this review (we really can't keep every flash drive we get forever and also even if we could testing them all again and again would simply not be possible).

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

CONCLUSION

   One of the first things most people i know look for when out in the market to get a new USB flash drive is its size since much like myself they too want to carry it around with their key chains. That being said i also happen to take into account also the performance and type of material used whenever i choose a USB flash drive since i need performance for my work and quality so that i need not worry about damaging it and thus compromising my data. The Jewel J06 enclosure may not be manufactured with a metal/aluminum alloy or rubber and thus it may not be as rugged as some other drives in the market but it's very small (perhaps the smallest we've ever tested in the lab), quite fast as you can tell from our charts (for its size always), is available in three different color combinations and has a lifetime warranty.

   So how does the Jewel J06 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive by Silicon Power cost? Well price-wise the Jewel J06 64GB is a very affordable USB 3.0 flash drive since as we speak it costs just USD32.65 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and at around 35Euros inside the EU. Of course the Jewel J06 is not alone at around that price point on the contrary there are countless other models by many manufacturers including Silicon Power. In the end however it all comes down to what you're after so if size and performance are your two top priorities then the J06 is amongst your best options. On the other hand however if you're after the fastest drive around or if you just want a durable USB flash drive that can take quite a beating then the Jewel J06 is clearly not for you. Overall however the Jewel J06 is very small, performs very well, looks great, is extremely affordable and comes with a lifetime warranty and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Design
- Size/Weight
- Performance
- 3 Different Color Combinations
- Lifetime Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- No Lanyard Included