High capacity USB drives have become commonplace years ago, but although some memory outfits are peddling huge drives, up to 1TB, most consumers are still going for cheap 32GB and 64GB units. Toshiba is aiming at such users with its latest flash drive series, named TransMemory EX II.

However this series is oriented toward users who need fast access times and high transfer speeds. Toshiba claims the drives can deliver speeds up to 205 MB/s write and 222 MB/s read. The TransMemory EX II series is available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities. The 64GB version is priced at €50 (MSRP $129.99), and the 128GB version at €105 (MSRP $199.99). The 32GB capacity drive is priced at €30, but it has slower write times compared to the rest of the series. All three drives ship with a five-year warranty.

The drive can be partitioned using EX II Pad Locker encryption software, which you can run under Windows. You will find the software installation file on the drive. It is a nice piece of software that gives you the option of creating private and public partitions on one drive, something business users are likely to appreciate.

The build quality is very good and we like the design, although some may say it is not keeping up with the latest design trends; it doesn’t look as flashy as some flash drives. Business users will appreciate the conservative design.