We would like to thank at first Silicon Power for supplying a sample of their xDrive Z50 Dual USB Flash Drive for testing and reviewing.

 

 

 

About Silicon Power:

 

"Founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic data storage industry experts, Silicon Power is committed to delivering outstanding product and service quality. Headquartered and with our own state-of-the-art production site in Taipei, we have become a leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, solid state drives, DRAM modules and industrial-grade products. As an international player with four branch offices around the globe, we continuously strive to offer the perfect data storage solution for all requirements of modern digitalized life. With a strong focus on combining innovative technology and award-winning design, we live up to our brand promise to reliably preserve and protect your most valuable data.

Because memory is personal."

 

Product Features:

 

An Apple-Worthy Match for Instant Storage Expansion and Easy Data Sharing

 

Apple oozes design from every angle, we know that. So we created the new Z50 as the perfect complement to your Mac book, iPad, or iPhone. Because we really don‘t want to spoil your Apple experience. Sharing music, photos, videos, or work projects between all your devices – iPhone, iPad, Mac, and PC – has never been easier, lighter and more stylish. The Z50 – our new, fully MFi certified dual interface Lightning and USB 3.1 Gen 1 drive.

 

Good Looks Are Not Enough? We Agree.

 

Nothing to lose...

 

Especially no protective caps. The Z50 is made with a highly elastic yet sturdy TPU cap that is firmly attached to the drive - ready to be snapped open and close over 10,000 times. And speaking of attached – it also has a key ring-hole.

 

Nothing to get rid of...

 

Especially no iPhone cases. The extended connector lets you plug the drive hassle-free without removing the case.

 

Nothing to worry...

 

The tiny lightweight’s tough metal casing leaves it dustproof, shock and scratch resistant to withstand real day-to-day use.

 

No Compromises on Quality

 

The Z50 is fully MFI certified and meets strict quality and manufacturing standards. For stylish AND secure storage, transfer and backup of all your important files and memories.

 

SP xDrive Explorer – Your File Manager for an Even Better Experience

 

Download our app from the App Store for an even better experience. It's free, intuitive and packed with useful functions such as data backup, files synchronization, files encryption, data transfer, cloud backup and media playback.

 

 

Product Specifications:

 

Silicon Power is now offering an interesting solution for Apple product owners in order to facilitate data sharing (such as photos, music, videos, various documents) between devices; in order for this to work, the new xDrive Z50 does come with dual interfaces (Lightning and USB 3.1 Gen 1), while being available in three different capacities: 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. The product is shipped inside a small cardboard enclosure, which allows us to take a look at the product without unsealing the enclosure:

 

 

 

On one of the box sides, the manufacturer is advertising the SP xDrive Explorer free application, which is available from the official App Store:

 

 

 

Some more details such as the technical specifications can be spotted in the back:

 

 

 

After removing the top packaging layer, we will get to see that the product is being held inside a transparent plastic mold; here we do also get to see a more detailed product description:

 

 

 

In order to match the modern look of the Apple gadgets and computers, the xDrive Z50 does come with an interesting metallic casing, while the sandblasted surface makes sure that no scratches or fingerprints will be created during use:

 

 

 

The other end that holds the Lightning connector is protected by a durable plastic cap, which also comes with a small keyring hole:

 

 

On the housing, we will get to see the inscription of the total drive capacity:

 

 

The testbench was composed from the following hardware:

 

CPU: Intel I5 4690K Retail @ stock

Motherboard: BIOSTAR GAMING Z97X

RAM: GeIL Black Dragon 4x4GB DDR2133 (@1600)

Video: Sparkle GTX 470 with stock and OMNI A.L.C.

Power Supply: Nexus RX-8500 850W modular

HDD: OCZ Vertex 4 240GB SSD

Case: Thermaltake Armor+ LCS, stock cooling

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64

The Silicon Power xDrive Z50 Dual USB Flash Drive has arrived formatted FAT32:

 

 

To determine the flash drive read speeds, the HD Tune v5 utility was used:

 

 

HD Tune File Benchmark

 

 

Summary Graph (Read Performance)

 

To measure the real life performance, we have used the Total Commander application to copy to the flash drive and from the flash drive the same file and recorded the transfer speeds, after they have stabilized.

 

File Copy

File Read

Summary Graph (Real-life performance)

 

 

We have also performed some extra tests with this drive and the results can be checked out right here:

ATTO

 

Anvil

SP Widget free software utility adds some more value to the product; it can be downloaded from the Silicon Power website and presents itself with an easy to use interface; we can use the USB drive for backups and the main screen will show the current progress:

 

 

The first menu is in charge of Backup and Restore tasks:

 

 

Data Encryption menu is next:

 

 

Favorites can be saved to the drives from the installed browsers;

 

 

We can also use the cloud for addition backup options:

 

 

Lastly, we can adjust the interface language, check the user manual, the Log file or go back to the main menu:

 

 

Right after we have connected the xDrive Z50 to our iPad Air 2, it was recognized and the suitable application was suggested by the iOS:

 

 

 

We were then redirected to the App Store section:

 

 

 

 

xDrive Explorer does sport an easy to use interface:

 

 

 

First, we do have a file browser, which allows us to see the contents from the drive:

 

 

 

 

The In-App storage section is similar to the file browser, but with the exception of Folder category section that allows the user to browse, play and manage all the saved files on the xDrive:

 

 

 

 

The Camera section does allow the user to backup the photos and screenshots taken with the iOS device onto the xDrive:

 

 

 

 

Contacts saved onto our device can be also backup and restored when needed:

 

 

 

The product registration procedure can be completed right from the GUI:

 

 

 

Finally, we do have an Information button which does let the user know of the application version, the storage space status on the device but also on the xDrive:

 

 

 

The drive details can be also checked out in the Settings->About section of iOS:

 

 

 

With the xDrive Z50, Silicon Power is proposing a simple solution for backup and file transfer between PC and Mac computers but also with iOS portable devices. The product includes the latest technologies such as USB 3.1 Gen 1 but also Lightning. It comes with Apple MFi certification and can be purchased in three different capacities: 32GB, 64GB but also 128GB. Its chassis is made of zinc alloy (thanks to the metallic casing, xDrive Z50 is dustproof, shock and scratch resistant), while the Lightning connector is protected by a durable plastic cap that was tested in-house to withstand over 10000 open/close actions.

 

Regarding the drive performance, we could see very good read speeds, but average writes, at around 20MB/s.

 

Besides the SP Widget 3.0 application that is meant to be used with PCs, we do also have to our disposal xDrive Explorer, for easy file transfer, synchronizations and more.

 

The xDrive Z50 can be purchased online for about 45 Euros (32GB capacity).

Silicon Power xDrive Z50 Dual USB Flash Drive is Recommended for:

 

 

We would like to thank again to Silicon Power for making this review possible!