SanDisk Ultra +Cloud 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review

TweakTown's Rating: 87%

The Bottom Line

SanDisk's Ultra +Cloud is a great solution for those wanting features such as a slider flash drive to tuck away in their pocket along with 64GB of cloud storage at a comfortable asking price.

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As common as flash drives are in today's market, vendors continue to innovate and introduce unique features with their flash solutions. One of these vendors is SanDisk, who has recently brought to market a two in one solution offering 128GB of storage with 64GB on the drive itself and 64GB in the cloud.

The Ultra +Cloud is the latest flash solution to come from SanDisk. This solution features, as mentioned above, 128GB of storage split between the drive and the cloud. With this solution offering cloud storage, SanDisk has bundled SecureAccess software on the drive that's compatible with both Windows and OS X and provides 128-bit AES encryption. Compatibility extends to Windows and OS X for the drive itself, while the cloud storage can be accessed via iOS 7+ and Android 4.2+.

MSRP of the 128GB SanDisk Ultra +Cloud sits at $39.99 with a three-year warranty.

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The packaging for the Ultra +Cloud is the standard bubble packaging. To the right, we have the capacity while the left center list information about the drive.

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On the back of the packaging, we have features listed in several languages, with warranty information listed below.

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Above, we have a look at the Ultra +Cloud. This is the first white drive I have seen from SanDisk, and it does use the slider design like many Cruzer drives.

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On the backside of the drive, the model number and capacity are listed.

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Here we have the drive in its extended form.

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Above, we have a quick look at the included software. This software does need to be installed but doesn't take up much room.

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To set up the encryption, you input your information as seen above.

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To test the Ultra + Cloud we put it through our standard tests. In the sequential test, this drive was able to reach 136 MB/s read and 41 MB/s write.

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The Anvils testing for the +Cloud allowed this drive a score of 384.02 while read and write came in at 325 and 58, respectively.

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Price/performance of this drive landed this solution in the upper middle of our chart at 78.6%.

We have indeed seen some unique flash drives over the years, including the Ventura Ultra from Mushkin which was an SSD in stick form and the DRAM disk from Super Talent which used your systems memory to cache then write to the flash drive, but the Ultra +Cloud is perhaps the most interesting take on 128GB of storage.

When I first received my sample of the Ultra +Cloud, I was expecting a 128GB flash drive that was paired with some sort of internet storage like Dropbox, but in fact, with this new product SanDisk has chosen to split 64GB onto the drive with 64GB on the cloud.

With that said, this isn't a terrible idea as many cloud providers are skimping back on free storage and in the case with SanDisk they offer the ability to secure your data with 128-bit AES encryption. The build quality of the drive itself was solid though again these slider drives tend to be difficult at times.

The performance of the Ultra +Cloud was decent at 136 MB/s read with write performance stuck around 41 MB/s. Price/performance wasn't too bad with the SanDisk but did land it at 78.6%.

Overall, for those that want or need cloud storage, the Ultra +Cloud is a unique solution that gives you a middle of the road flash drive for moving data between PCs and 64GB of cloud storage to move data to mobile devices or store securely online.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Z97-A - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Cooler: Corsair H100i GTX - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600 - Buy from Amazon
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Storage: Intel 730 480GB - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Case: Corsair Obsidian 750D - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 750W - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 - Buy from Amazon