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As of late, we’ve been sharing a number of different thumb drive options from PNY in our reviews. What is amazing, frankly, is just how many different form factors they have available. There’s the standard USB-A connector (review), USB-A plus USB-C (review), or USB-A plus Lightning (review). Well, what if you’re just rocking a modern laptop and tablet, only need to worry about the tiny USB-C connector? Not to worry, PNY has you covered there as well, with the PNY Elite-X Type-C Thumb Drive.
Form factor
Since this is just a single connector type – and that connector is small – this is a very narrow and light package. To protect the connector, you’ve got a simple plastic cover that slides out to cover the connector. The end is open, so you might need to clean it out now and again, but the cover will keep the connector from getting bent or damaged as it bangs around in your backpack or pocket. With the loop built into it, it would be a simple matter to put the thumb drive onto a keychain, or even onto a clip in your bag.
Using it
That’s the great thing about USB-C – it’s just plain simple to use. No worries about flipping the drive around to get the connector oriented correctly, you just plug it in. The other great thing is that your devices should just detect it and use it without any fuss (no apps needed or anything like that). We tested it on a Macbook and an iPad, and both picked it up just fine. With the USB 3.2 standard here, speeds were pretty snappy, and things moved along at a great clip. Frankly, remembering the days (and speeds) of old floppy drives, these little things are just amazing. Oh, and worth noting – no LEDS are built into the casing, so you could conceivably leave this plugged in longer-term, and not have a distracting light shining at you.
How to get yours
It should be available at a number of stores, and these drives – even at what I consider large capacities – are quite affordable. Pricing is $11.99 for 64GB, $14.99 for 128GB, or $25.99 for the 256GB. You can get yours over at Amazon, or directly from pny.com
