Review: Transcend JetFlash 760

The Transcend JetFlash 760 is a USB 3.0 flash drive that comes in capacities ranging from 4GB ($30) through to 32GB ($110). It’s mostly undistinguished in looks – a plain black body with a slide-out USB plug that slides neatly inside the chassis for storage and eliminates the lost-lid dilemma so common to USB flash drives. However, it feels a little flimsy and plasticky.

Performance-wise it was adequate, but not great. For a large movie file, which is generally compressed data, it averaged 19Mbyte/sec write speed and 39.3Mbyte/sec write speed. That’s less than half the write speed achieved by our most recently tested USB portable hard drive. Data transfer times were similar for a large uncompressed file, but for small file transfers – always a challenge – it managed just 2.6Mbyte/sec.

If the performance is no great shakes, you’d hope that there’s something a little more to whet your appetite for this USB 3.0 drive and tempt you above and beyond a standard (and cheaper) USB 2.0 drive. While the packaging advertises data recovery, backup and encryption software, you actually need to download this from Transcend’s website, and enter your email in order to do so. The software is functional, but having to put it on a computer, then transfer and install it onto your USB stick may put off students who lack their own system and just need something for school files.

Unless you’re really in need of a cheap USB stick with just a little more performance than a USB 2.0 equivalent, this isn’t much of a step up.