Flash thumb drives have long been the “sneakernet” of convenience for transferring files quickly between machines when networking and/or bandwidth options aren’t available. But as flash drive capacities have increased, they’re also becoming a viable backup medium…and Lexar is looking to tap into that notion with its new 128 GB Echo SE flash drive, which not only works with Mac and PCs and comes with optional data encryption software, but ships with incremental backup software for Windows and Mac OS X to make it easy for users to quickly back up their important files on the go.
“When it comes to backup solutions, a higher capacity means larger amounts of data can be easily and conveniently protected against loss,” said Lexar Media senior product marketing manager Jyh Chau, in a statement. “We are pleased to announce the addition of the 128GB drive to the Echo SE line. With its automatic, customizable software capabilities, consumers living a mobile lifestyle can now back up a large number of files on a single drive.”
The drive requires a USB port, and works with WIndows XP/Vista/7 as well as Mac OS X 10.5 or newer. Lexar claims the drive supports up to 10MB/s writes and 28MB/s reads, and the included backup software not only enables users to do targeted, incremental backups—so folks can grab just important files or items that have changes—but also enables uers to set up backup plans for multiple computers storing information to the same drive. In addition, the backup software offers optional 128-bit AES encryption to help secure data in the event the drive is ever lost or stolen.
Although we wouldn’t recommend a flash drive as a long-term backup solution—the jury is still out on the best backup media for long-term storage, but flash isn’t it—anything that helps mobile users quickly, safely, and reliably back up their data to a second device while running around can be a good thing.
The 128 GB version of the Echo SE flash drive carries a suggested price of $499.99; other versions are available with 16, 32, and 64 GB capacities.
