The PQI Tiffy manages to do a lot of things right, but still ends up falling short in some key areas. It is extremely compact while still having a built-in LED, manages close to 200 MB/s write on USB 3.0, and should be durable enough for everyday use because of its metal housing. The overall design of the drive reminds me of the Kingston SE9/GE9, but the fact that the PQI Tiffy utilizes the USB 3.0 interface makes this a different ball game.
The most important aspect is still the answer to the question of whether the Tiffy utilizes the new standard properly in order to warrant spending a bit more on it. After benchmarking, the response is clearly affirmative. While write performance is not really up to par when compared to what many other devices are capable of, the PQI Tiffy still manages to go well beyond what USB 2.0 can do. With the aging 2.0 interface, the unit falls victim to its erratic write performance, clocking in at around 20 MB/s write while pushing things to the limit with 35 MB/s read.
In the end, the drive is one of the few units out there with such a robust shape and implementation, especially for USB 3.0. These should be the key points of focus - speed is only secondary. When seen from this vantage point, the PQI Tiffy delivers.