Tiny and very fast

They are smaller than the average thumbnail and yet they can store up to 64 gigabytes of data. That's a microSDXC memory card. Here we're looking at one of the first microSD cards that can be operated as fast as some of the fastest generally available full-size SD cards, Lexar's 600x microSDXC card which comes with its own tiny ultra high-speed USB3 card reader.

Lots of devices are designed to work with microSD cards from smartphones to tablet computers and even some cameras. You can also use a full-size SD card adapter to make microSD cards fit an even wider range of devices, including most digital cameras on sale today. Until recently microSD cards were usually slower than their full-size counterparts.

600x works out to 90MB/sec for reading from the card. The card is also UHS-1 rated and, rather obviously, meets the requirements of Class 10 performance recommended for reliable HD video recording. In fact the card us rated to 48MB/sec writing to it, which is very respectable and the fastest microSDXC card we know of to date.

In our tests we saw real world 84MB/sec read-speeds and just over 40MB/sec write speeds, which is about right considering the on-paper specifications. Although this is a microSDXC card, with an appropriate adapter the Lexar 600x microSDXC card will work very effectively in the latest cameras that have high-speed sequential shooting rates.

How about that for a card reader? Tiny is an under-statement!

You can thread a tiny lanyard through a hole provided and attach the reader to a key ring, for example.

A full-size SD card, the same size an adapter to enable microSD cards to fit standard SD card slots, is actually larger than the bundled microSD USB3 card reader

Talking of microSD adapters, do beware cheap and cheerful ones; we tested half a dozen with the Lexar 600x microSDXC card and one in particular eroded transfer rates by about a quarter, almost certainly because of poor electrical design and manufacturing.

Lexar bundles the smallest memory card read I have ever seen - it's a USB3 device and allows the card to be unfettered by lowly USB2 speeds when plugged into a USB3 port.

Review rating and Amazon pricing:

You do pay a premium for 600x performance but what makes the Lexar 600x microSDXC card stand out is its fast write-speed, about twice as fast as any other microSD card we have yet seen. The dinky USB3 card reader does the job too although we are a little puzzled why Lexar didn't also include a full-size SD card adapter. Overall, we've awarded Lexar an Editor's Choice rating for what is an excellent product.

We were very fortunate to be supplied with the top of the range 64GB Lexar microSD card and at the time of writing this wasn't yet listed for sale on Amazon UK. There are also 16GB and 32GB versions and Amazon prices are at the bottom of this page.

 

Check the latest price or purchase options for the 32GB Lexar microSDXC 600x memory card via
Check the latest price or purchase options for the 16GB Lexar microSDXC 600x memory card via
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