Transcend 256GB JetDrive Lite 130 Storage Expansion Card for 13-Inch MacBook Air (TS256GJDL130) Black
Electronics > Computers & Accessories > Computer Accessories & Peripherals > Memory Cards > CompactFlash Cards
About this item
- 256GB (MLC)
- Max Read: 95MB/s, Max Write: 60MB/s
- For MacBook Air 13" (Late 2010 - Early 2015)
- Compatibility with Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan is currently under verification
- New Update JetDrive Toolbox (v1.14.3).Width:25 mm
Reviews
★★★★★
Capacity: 128GB | Verified Purchase
Easy upgrade, also fast enough to host & run PC virtual machines (detail below)
I purchased the “Transcend JetDrive Lite 130 128GB Storage” after running across it while searching for 128GB flash drives. Wow, what a fantastic find!!
The Transcend JetDrive Lite 130 is an inexpensive way of increasing your storage, and is a great concept. I just bought a new 2014 MacBook Air with a 120GB internal hard drive thinking that this would fulfill my laptop storage needs. However after uploading all of my digital photos to my new computer, I soon realized that I didn’t have much storage left on my hard drive. I tried inserting a SD card in the side of my MacBook Air, however it stuck out to far. I also tried a mini USB flash drive, which also stuck out more than I liked. Additionally, I don’t think they make a USB mini flash drive any larger then 64GB, if they do I couldn’t find one.
The Transcend JetDrive Lite 130 128GB Storage was the perfect solution as well as the least inexpensive option per gigabyte. The JetDrive allowed me to double my storage space, and it sits completely flush, leaving no chance of being caught on something and being broken off.
The read write access times of the JetDrive are pretty good, with 95 MB per second read and 60 MB per second write. These read write speeds are actually fast enough to run virtual machines directly from the Transcend JetDrive. I have a 32 GB Windows 7 virtual machine and a 16 GB Linux virtual machine running directly off of the JetDrive. If I were to store both of these virtual machines on the native internal hard drive it would need to take 40% of the 120GB internal hard drive which I would not be able to do without removing all of my digital photos. Placing my virtual machines on the JetDrive was a great option.
You can also use the Mac operating system to encrypt the data on the JetDrive just like you would the internal drive. The JetDrive is more reliable and sophisticated than a standard SD card or USB flash drive because of the “Built-In Error Correction Code (ECC)”. The Transcend JetDrive mounts and dismounts automatically when you turn on or off your MacBook.
I have used Transcend storage products in the past and have always been satisfied in the value and quality. For anyone who wants to add another 128GB to their MacBook, the Transcend JetDrive products are an incredibly great buy.
If you feel my review was useful, please click the "Yes" button below. Thanks!
★★★★★
Capacity: 256GB | Verified Purchase
Great storage option, plus some usage tips
This was an easy storage upgrade for my 2014 MacBook Air so I love it. Couple things to note
1) I love how flush the card is when inserted
2) Don't forget to format your card (not sure why they this isn't done) when you purchase it. Command + spacebar and type "disk utility". Then click on the card, select erase, and select the OS X Extended (Journaled) option
3) Download the JetDrive Toolbox from Transcend. [...], click on support > support & download. Then click on "Apple Solutions" and work your way down (like Jet Drive lite on the left for my macbook air)
4) Once that is installed, for my MacBook air, click on the JetDrive Lite tab at the top, and make sure under "Power Save" you have it clicked to On.
At first, it was strange because I assumed the Transcend drive would be seen like my normal hard drive, but if you are waking from sleep there is a slight delay before the drive appears on the desktop. Speaking of that, if you wake from sleep and don't log on right away (say wait 3 minutes before logging on) you won't see the drive. For it to mount you need to promptly log-in at the screen
★★★★★
Capacity: 128GB | Verified Purchase
this is a great product that every single macbook user should buy
To answer most of your questions, this is a great product that every single macbook user should buy, regardless of how much internal storage you have.
This review is all based on personal experience with the product.
1. It actually has a little bit more than 128gb on the card free.
2. It does not unmount when the computer is put to sleep, even in the middle of a download.
3. It does not unmount when restarted.
4. It is barely noticeable in the SD card slot and just feels like theres something covering the SD card slot.
I have a 2013 macbook air 13.3". I have been able to use it for my Time Machine back-ups, and planning to install a windows virtualization machine, either bootcamp or parallels on it.
Although the computer recognizes the drive the moment it is inserted, it does need to be formatted to a mac os only format to take full advantage of it. It is formatted the same way you would format your SSD. MAC OS (journal extended).
★★★★★
Capacity: 128GB | Verified Purchase
This product is great for someone who does not want to carry a ...
This product is great for someone who does not want to carry a heavy external hard drive everywhere you go. I for one like to take my Macbook Air to the library, to school, and other random places, so it was not very convenient for me to bring a hard drive. Sure a hard drive might give you more storage and it might seem like a "better deal," but knowing that this is so compact and you won't even notice that it is even there is what lured me to buy it. I was able to transfer all of my photos, some files, some applications to this JetDrive. Everything worked perfectly fine and I have had no issues with it whatsoever. If you are someone who uses the SD card slot, then I would recommend to just buy a SD card slot to USB type reader because this product is not meant to be taken in and out all the time. Overall, I can definitely recommend this to anyone who just needs that extra space.
★★★★★
Capacity: 256GB | Verified Purchase
Perfect, just what I needed.
I play games on macbook and I ran out of memory. I was able to move all the sims 4 games over to card and it works wonderful. No delay in speed and I am so happy to not have to buy a larger memory macbook. Thank you little chip you saved me 1000's of dollars! I did start a new game within just so there would not be any issues so I'm not sure if a saved one on computer would transfer perfectly to chip.
★★★★★
Capacity: 128GB | Verified Purchase
This memory stick fits inside the SD card slot of ...
This memory stick fits inside the SD card slot of a MacBook Air. While it perfectly provides 128G of extra storage, be aware that 1) it must be removed if you ever need to use a photo stick (SD); 2) this is very important: it is treated as external drive by MacOs so this will not synchronize with Dropbox. This was important to me; it is no different than an ordinary memory stick or external HD functionally speaking, but somewhat more elegant and portable. I believe all solutions and advertisement to the effect that the internal memory is doubled (or extended by 128G) are based on hacks of the systems and highly unreliable.
★★★★★
Capacity: 256GB | Verified Purchase
Why did I wait so long!
I’ve had my MacBook Air for 7 years now, and recently started running low on space, to the point that I have not been able to complete the recent software updates. I was also unable to open certain applications because of the low space. This SD card peaked my interest because of the design - you can plug it in and forget about it, unless you need the slot for something else (for me that’s a very rare occurrence).
So far I have successfully moved my Microsoft 365 applications, photoshop, and various documents, and it automatically freed up space for my computer to function normally. My next project is to optimize my photo space.
I found a YouTube tutorial to guide me through the set up, which was very easy.
★★★★★
Capacity: 128GB | Verified Purchase
Extra storage space for MacBook Air? Sign me up!
Great stuff!
I was reading all the reviews on this beforehand and wanted to install parallels on my macbook air so I could run Windows 7 on it. This surprisingly worked well, except I hated the parallels interface.
For the price this is great, at $73 for 128GB of extra space for a macbook that you can no longer make upgrades on? Awesome.
One thing I would suggest is to format the drive when you get it.
If you're running Parallels/VMware, format to Journel Extended
If you're using bootcamp windows, format to exFAT (won't be able to read/write if other format)
The above is for cross-functionality.
Also battery life isn't all that affected which is great. I know the most helpful review says that it dismounts all the time, but I think Transcend fixed this in their software. I have had no issue with the drive dismounting after sleep/wakeup.
I would highly recommend this drive for anyone that needs some space on their macbook. Sure, I use my sparingly enough, but 256 GB total gives you peace of mind to do whatever you want with it and not need to worry about filling it up
★★★★★
Capacity: 256GB | Verified Purchase
Adds storage without any hassle
Installed this and worked out the box. Fitted flush then inserted, really does not stick out like some reviews make it sound like it's going to knock you unconscious if you bump against it. I thought at first that my MBA did not pick it up. Thought I must format or mount it in setting or something, only to find the MBA was already seeing it.
Read at about 90Mbs and Write at 52 Mbs (as expected)
As far as sleep issues go, I don't know why others report badly on sleep and device not mounting etc. I did a shutdown and reboot, I did a sleep, I closed the lid for a while and opened again, in all these cases of trying to see if I get the same problem it always worked fine, never lost access to the drive, was always mounted and available. Guess it could be config or some other third party program running on those negative reviews machines which is the cause of the problem and not the JetDrive itself.
The only thing that would have been nice is if the side of the card was a light metallic grey to fit in with the colour of the Mac.
This frees up the USB port (where I had a small mini USB flash drive), also this is for the sole benefit of having a semi-permanent extra storage capacity (I am not getting some users who complain, its difficult to take out, or will be problem to insert a card or that they normally only use the laptop at home and have a big capacity external drive. Then don't get this if it's such an issue)
★★★★★
Capacity: 128GB | Verified Purchase
... this for about 4 months now and think it's fantastic. I previously used a nifty mini-drive
I've been using this for about 4 months now and think it's fantastic. I previously used a nifty mini-drive, which I found to have poor quality control (mine stuck out of my air vs. the "flush" fit nifty advertises among other things) and then you're stuck paying a decent amount extra for a micro SD to get a reasonable amount of storage. With this I knew exactly what I was getting prior. It fits exactly as advertised, sticking up a millimeter or two off my MacBook Air. I originally believed that anything that wasn't flush fit would bother me constantly, but this hasn't been the case. I rarely (if ever) notice it in transport to and from class, in my bag, or daily use in general. I've experienced none of the battery issues that older reviews seem to indicate. I've used the JetDrive Toolbox that was recommended be used with the product. Despite great brainpower effort I can't seem to recall if it required me to install it or not, but the software works quite well. Whenever my Mac goes to sleep the software ejects the disk, and then reconnects it upon wake. I have had occasional issues with the software not reconnecting and I've had to physically remove and reinsert the drive, but I could count the number of times this has happened on one hand. After four months, Blackmagic is currently registering between 35 and 60mb/s write, and consistently reading 90mb/s read. I bought it with the intent of it being a "secondary disk" and it's performed more than admirably.
Show for you like this post.
Question & Answer
Question :
Does this fit the MacBook Air 11" as well?
Answer :
No. MacBook Air 11" does not have an SD slot at all.
Question :
Does software need to be installed? Also, does it really drain the battery when in sleep mode?
Answer :
I haven't noticed any battery drain since plugging it in. The new OS drain the battery in sleep mode if the-background is dynamic.
Question :
In MacBook Air Mid 2012 read/write at full speed? Can I run a virtual machine with Windows 7 with this card?
Answer :
I am currently running windows 7 using VMWare Fusion on a PNY 128 GB card, I don't see any issue with the performance as such, I use outlook, VS.Net and Visio/MS Project, my MBA is i7 with 8 GB RAM. The reason I am looking at this card is, the PNY stands projected out a little and this seems to close into the SD Card slot neatly.
Question :
Does this work fast enough to DJ from? Thanks!
Answer :
As long as you mean playing music, I would think it does, because it reads really fast... but I can't confirm that it would work to DJ from. I use it all the time to hear music, my iTunes library is stored there. But if you intend to "create" music (Sorry, I don't know the correct term), It would be better to use your internal SSD drive.
Question :
Will this work for a macbook 13 air that I literally just purchased? Date is 9/19/15
Answer :
i have a 2011 macbook 13" air and it works for me . . . hope that helps
Question :
Is it advisable to put my Dropbox sync on this? I have heard conflicting reviews.
Answer :
The only argument I can think of against it, is that it is relatively slow to copy files to it. If you usually copy large files into your dropbox, I would leave it where it is. This drive is best used to free up space by storing large files you rarely access.
Question :
Does this work with Macbook Air Mid 2014? Version 6,2
Answer :
I have it running in my Macbook Air 2014. I have only had it for about a month but so far it seems to be working fine. Fits pretty snug in the mba 14 the only thing that shows are the edges which allow you to remove the card if you needed to.
Question :
Does this look flat on the side of the MBA or is it still outside of the SD slot??
Answer :
it has are 0.5mm outside of the mba. Its the slit on the picture at the bottom for you to use nails to pull out the SD card. (Unlike miffy drive, that needs a paper clip to pull the SD card out). Barely noticeable
Question :
How does this work? I put it in and I see it on my desktop but when I tried to sync my iphone to my laptop it still says not enough space.
Answer :
The JetDrive doesn't create more space on your primary drive (usually called "Macintosh HD"); it adds another drive. You will need to move some files off of your primary drive to make space for the iPhone to sync. (Okay, theoretically you could also change the configuration of iTunes so your iPhone syncs to the new Transcend drive but I'll assume it is easier to move some files.) Good possibile folders to move files from include Downloads, Pictures, Videos, or you could move old Documents if you have a lot of them. I'll assume you choose to move all your Pictures off the primary drive; if you want to move other files just substitute your desired folder for the Pictures folder in the following steps.
Steps:
1 - Open your Pictures folder.
2 - Select all pictures (Cmd-A).
3 - Cut all the files (Cmd-X)
4 - Go to your Transcend drive.
5- Paste (Cmd-V). Now you should have enough space to sync your iPhone.
If you didn't understand the above steps and need a primer on MacOS file management, here is a good source: https://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/how-to-locate-and-manage-your-stuff-in-os-x
Question :
is it compatible with the macbook pro
Answer :
If you go to transcend's website you will see there are different model numbers depending on your laptop
Comments
Post a Comment