Review: 16GB Lexar Echo USB ZX Backup Drive

Tesxt and photos by Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

WIth the proliferation of tablets, netbooks and all increasingly thin ultrabooks in the market, storage has become a big deal. $100 is the penalty to double a tablet or notebook's memory from 16GB to 32GB because internal SSD (Solid State Drive) memory is still darn costly. Lexar's series of tiny yet capable (8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities) USB backup drive give instant memory expansion at a relatively affordable price.

The  store bought 16GB Lexar Echo ZX USB Backup Drive ($54.00) appealed to us because we needed extra storage space for our Google Chromebook which only ships with 16GB memory and can't be upgraded internally.

The Lexar Echo ZX isn't the kind of USB thumbdrive you want to carry around in your pocket (it is easy to lose, specially when you take out the cover). Lexar also has  8GB ($30) and 32GB ($100) variants of the Echo.

This is clearly a set-it and forget-it peripheral which is perfect for tablets (like the Toshiba Tablet or the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, which feature a full sized USB port) since you can get the base memory model and add up to 32GB of storage while not taking up much space. The Lexar Echo ZX claims 28MB/s read and 15MB/s write speeds which are above average for this sort of device.

The Lexar Echo (far right) is only slightly larger than the mouse adaptor.Designed for use with Mac and PCs as well, the Echo ZX backup drive provides automatic backup of your essential files in a convenient, reliable flash-based design. 

Built-in Lexar Echo backup software activates as soon as it’s plugged in, to securely and automatically protect files with 128-bit AES encryption. The drive also performs ongoing backups to any files in use, and restores previously saved versions of a file—providing peace of mind that users data is safe.

Lexar has created a simple solution that will resonate with users of different devices. Here's a tiny storage solution for tablets, notebooks and PCs that actually offers encrypted back ups of your most valuable files. I know the holidays are a few months away but this right here is an awesome stocking stuffer. Good for Lexar for innovating in the incredibly crowded mobile storage space with a compelling and truly useful product

Rating: 5 out of 5