Verbatim Portable Hard Drive

Verbatim Portable Hard Drive
Company: Verbatim
Price: $70.31 USD at Amazon.Com
http://www.verbatim.com

It seems like every company that sells hard drives are coming out with “portable” hard drives. These drives are usually promoted as “pocket” drives, or drives that are easy to carry around. For the most part, they are, but some just don’t fit in a pocket, and I’d have to wonder why you’d carry one around in your pocket anyway.

The Verbatim Portable Hard Drive (VPHD) bills itself as “Palm-sized, durable, and stylish.” We’ll examine each of these adjectives.

Palm-sized:
As you will see in the video below, the VPHD is a little too wide to be called “Palm-sized.” I tried to stuff it into my pocket, but it was a tight fit. It does slip into a back pocket easily enough. I can’t see myself driving around town with any drive in my pocket, unless it fits in my top shirt pocket. This is a bus powered drive, so no AC adapter is required. The only thing you need to carry with you, besides the unit itself, is the included USB cable.

Durable:
The drive housing looks like metal, but it is not. It feels like a hard plastic material. The VPHD is very light weight. If I squeeze the housing, it gives a bit on the bottom. I don’t think the housing will hold up over time if you put it under pressure in your pocket.

Stylish:
I think the VPHD has a “Star Trek” kind of look. I think it looks very nice. The drive also comes in a variety of colors and sizes. The 320 GB model comes in red, pink, blue, green, and silver.

Check out the video:

The VPHD internal drive has a rotational speed of 5400 RPM, making read and write operations average for a USB only drive. Verbatim sells this drive with a combination Firewire/USB connection option as well. The drive comes formatted in Windows format and with Windows back up software included on the drive. There is no Mac software included. This drive will work with any Mac that has a USB connection, including OS 9.X.

Bottom line:
The VPHD is a capable hard drive. I don’t like the lack of indicator lights and I am not confident that the housing will hold up well over the long term. The unit comes with a three year limited warranty. Verbatim sells a rubberized black drive dubbed the “Premier” that looks like it will wear better. The VPHD is simple to use– just plug in the included USB cable and go. Reformatting for Mac use may be desirable. Launch “Disk Utility” from your “Utilities” folder, click on the drive you want to format in the left hand column and then click on the “Erase” tab. Using the drop down menu labeled “Volume Format” use “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” and then give your drive a name. Remember, formatting a drive erases its contents completely. This link offers a more in depth tutorial.

MyMac Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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