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Transcend StoreJet 1.8in 20GB External HDD |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Saturday, 16 June 2007 |
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Page 1 of 3
Thanks to Transcend for the product sample.
With flash-based USB drives constantly growing in size (4GB to date), portable storage is taking on a new face. However, these drives are still too small for large data storage (such as movie files) and their relatively sensitive nature means they shouldn't be used for long term data storage. A tiny static discharge is all that's needed to corrupt the data or fry a controller. It's not uncommon for USB drives or other forms of flash media (including CompactFlash, Memory Stick, SD, MMC, etc) to bust for no apparent reason.
At the other extreme we have full-sized 3.5" internal hard drives kept in external cases. While this is a somewhat portable solution and is just as effective as internal storage (conceptually anyway, I/O speeds will be slower on a USB/FireWire interface), it's still quite bulky. The middle ground between these is a notebook hard drive (or smaller) that's more portable than a 3.5" drive (i.e. will fit in a pocket) and offers more storage than any flash drive. Transcend's StoreJet is just that: it's a wallet-sized 1.8" hard drive available in 20GB and 40GB capacities.
The kit contains the drive, a reinforced leathery carrying pouch, a standard USB cable, CD with drivers (only necessary for Windows 98) and a couple utilities, two product catalogs, installation guide in several languages, and a warranty card (2 years). On the software side of things, the CD contains a manual, drivers, and some utilities courtesy of Transcend (ExBoot Express, a StoreJet utility, and an initialization tool).
Transcend has several products in the StoreJet series. There's the StoreJet 1.8" non-removable drive available in 20GB or 40GB capacities, a 2.5" notebook-sized version that comes without a drive, a 40GB drive, or an 80GB drive, and finally a similar USB/FireWire combo that comes without a drive or 40GB/80GB drives. Our sample was the smallest of them all, the 20GB 1.8" StoreJet (formats to 18.6GB). This is smaller than a notebook hard drive (though not the smallest; Seagate's recently released 1" HDD is the winner), but it's no larger than a wallet and perfect for carrying around in your pocket. The whole thing doesn't contain any screws so it's not serviceable; you'll have to pry it open somehow if you want to peek inside.
The leather/plastic pouch fits the drive perfectly and snaps shut using a velcro attachment. It's slightly padded and has a bit of reinforcement for protection of the drive. Finally, there's a cutout near the top left for the USB cable to go through so you can use this drive without taking it out of the package, as well as a hole at the bottom for the power LED to shine through. The USB cable isn't proprietary so if you happen to lose it, getting a replacement shouldn't be a problem (for instance, I found that my Canon PowerShot G3 camera uses the same type of cable).
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 16 June 2007 )
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