Transcend JetDrive Go 500G Review – Lightning / USB 3.1 Flash Drive


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The Transcend JetDrive Go 500G flash drive allows OTG transfers between your computer and your iOS devices. This is the successor of JetDrive Go 300S that we had reviewed few months back. This has USB 3.1 for faster file transfer speed from a PC, compared to USB 2.0. Let us dive into the review to learn more about the device and how it performs.

Box Contents

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  • JetDrive Go 500G 32GB flash drive in golden color
  • Lanyard
  • User manual
  • Warranty information

Design

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The Transcend JetDrive Go 500G is really compact compared to most other flash drives for iOS. It measures 36.55 x 14.3 x 9.01mm and weighs just 5 grams, lighter than the JetDrive Go 300S. Since it is compact, you can easily carry it even in your wallet.

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The build quality has also been improved. Compared to plastic body of the  JetDrive Go 300S, this has a full metal body. It also comes in silver color,  apart from the silver-colored flash drive we have here.

It also comes with a protective cap to protect the lightning connector so that it doesn’t get damaged if you are carrying it in your pock along with metal items. The USB connector doesn’t need protection since it has a flat design.

Connectivity

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It connects easily to laptop, Mac or PCs on the USB end. The cap on the other end can remain closed to protect the lightning connector.

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The other end connects to the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The drive is not designed to work with both the PC/Mac and iOS device at the same time.

Software

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The JetDrive Go companion app can be downloaded from the Apple iTunes Store to manage content and for file transfers.

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We have the 32GB version of the drive. Out of 32GB, you get 29.4GB of usable space in the drive.

The app has clean interface and is easy to use. It automatically launches when the drive is plugged in. You can browse images, videos, music and documents easily and also open content directly from the drive. It can auto back up content, including iCloud Photos to the drive.

There is also option to quickly manage the images on camera roll so that you can easily copy or move the images or videos to the drive. The shoot and save option that can be enabled from the snapshot icon on the top lets you record videos or shoot photos and save it to the drive.

Performance

Transcend JetDrive Go 500G Speed test

Transcend promises lightning transfer speed of up to 20MBps and the USB 3.1 (Gen 1) transfer speed of up to 130MBps. We couldn’t really test the lightning transfer speed. We tested the USB transfer speed on a Mac using BlackMagic Disk Speed Test and got 120MBps read speed and 61MBps write speed, which is good. It uses FAT32 file system.

Conclusion

With the Transcend JetDrive Go 500G is a good upgrade to the Go 300S. It has premium metal body and has a sleek, lightweight design. You can easily back up files from your iOS device and transfer it to a PC without searching for a lighting cable. Thanks to USB 3.1 port, if you want to watch a movie on your iPhone or iPad, you can quickly transfer them to the drive and watch it on your iOS device.

The compact flash drive is worth its value especially for iOS users who feel that their storage on their devices are limited or if you wish to quickly transfer stuff to and from your computer and iOS devices on the move.

The 32GB and 64GB variants are available on Amazon.in for Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 6,831 respectively, while the MRP is Rs. 5099 and Rs. 6899, respectively. It comes with a two-year limited warranty.


Author: Srivatsan Sridhar

Srivatsan Sridhar is a Mobile Technology Enthusiast who is passionate about Mobile phones and Mobile apps. He uses the phones he reviews as his main phone. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram