Saturday, May 17, 2008

Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive Review

These elegant portable drives are simple to use, light and easy to carry, and require no power adapter -- they are powered directly through the USB cable. Pack up your office files and take them home. Carry thousands of songs or pictures. Synchronize files between home and office and encrypt everything on the drive for added security. WD Sync synchronization and encryption software lets you take your critical data with you. Plug My Passport into any PC, edit files, read e-mail, and view photos. Then sync all of your changes back to your home or office computer. Your data is protected with 128-bit encryption (Windows only). Perfect for the business traveler who needs to transfer large amounts of data from laptop to clients or just daily backups in case of accidents from mishandled luggage to coffee spills. Also comes in handy if your worried about laptop theft and someone else having access to your important data, you can store it on this portable encrypted drive instead.
For all those precious pictures, videos, music and data files, getting this external hard drive is a must have. WD Sync synchronization and encryption software lets you save your critical data and take it with you. Plug your drive into any PC, edit files, read e-mail, and view photos. Then sync all of your changes back to your home or office computer (Windows only) Search your drive, manage your photos, and simplify Web searches with included Google software (Windows only) Up to 480Mb/sec Bus Transfer Rate with USB 2.0 System Requirements - Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Mac OS X (10.1.5 or later), Available USB port Approximate Unit Dimensions - 0.59 (H) x 4.96 (L) x 3.14 (W) Approximate Unit Weight - 0.23lb

Pros
Largest current capacity available in this line of products
Nice portable form factor that easily connects via USB
USB powered, no A/C required, which is great for portability
Works well on Windows Vista, XP and Mac OS X
Easy to set up disk encryption for security and privacy
Nice looks, in my opinion better looking than the new essentials version
Turns on and off with your computer or easily ejected via system tray
Easy plug-and-play installation
Integrates nicely with my growing stable of WD MyBook drives
Included software may be useful for some novices
320 GB capacity is just about right for most users

Cons
Somewhat slow file transfer speeds for larger backups
Included software not useful for power users
Shiny body attracts scratch, fingerprints and dust
Have to spend your cash to get a case that should have been included

This drive is great or those who want a portable drive for backups on the run. It's nice getting the 320GB capacity in one drive. There are smaller drives but other than capacity there is no real difference between them. Watch the price changes and choose the sized drive that's right for you.

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