In this digital age, users from around the world are looking for ways to store information, data, movies, videos, music and photos. This is where external storage devices prove to be extremely useful.
External storage devices such as hard drives can be used everywhere; offices, homes and when traveling with a laptop. Small drives can have large capacities and are bus powered, and take the power from the laptop, thus eliminating the need for an external power supply.
Here are a few excellent external storage devices that seem to be doing their job perfectly.
Thecus N3200
Thecus is known to make life simple. The N3200 is yet another reliable storage device that offers RAID 5, with a perfect combination of performance and data security. With 3 hard drive bays, easy to use software and friendly Web interface, this a great option for all sorts of data storage needs. This device is perfect for home users. The media servers allow connections to DLNA-compatible devices. The iTunes server offers music streaming for the entire home. The Photo Web Server allows users to share their photos anywhere on the network. Users get all these wonderful features and more at an extremely reasonable price.
Seagate FreeAgent Go
This is a small and light external drive that looks good and has excellent transfer speed. The 500GB capacity is good enough even for large files. It is so silent that you will hardly notice it’s there. It can easily fit in a pocket or a briefcase and just needs to be plugged in to a USB port on a computer or a laptop. This is a perfect option for people who are on the go and need a reliable storage solution without being weighed down by it. Seagate provides several variants of colors and drive capacities to cater to a wide segment of users. The capacities available are 250GB, 320GB and 500GB, and in colors of Tuxedo Black, ruby Red, Titanium Silver, Solar Orange, Champagne Gold, Sky Blue, Think Pink, Forest Green and Spring Green.
Maxtor BlackArmor
This is a 320GB portable storage device that offers hardware encrypted storage solution. It is probably the easiest drive to use when compared to the others in the market. It may not be in the running for any design contests as it is not flashy, but with Black Armor, as the name suggests, it is all about internal security. It is great for people looking for the maximum protection possible. Once the username, password and password hint and answer are set, this device is completely locked down and ready to go. A five-year warranty adds to the attraction. With plenty of storage, all types of big files can be stored.
My Passport Studio II
This portable hard drive is bus powered and does not include a power adaptor. The drive has been specifically designed for Mac users but it can be reformatted with NTFS to be used on PCs running on XP or Vista. It uses either a FireWire 400 or a USB port. Although, this hard drive is not a speed demon, it does have exceptional speed and looks attractive and compact, almost like a small pocket planner. It is great for people looking for a stylish looking drive for portable storage and file backup.
QNAP TS-639 Pro Turbo NAS
This stately 9TB data storage device adopts vertical hard drive mounting which allows vertical air convection for excellent heat dissipation. Powered by Intel 1.6 GHz CPU and 1 GB DDRII memory, this device delivers superior performance for multiple business applications. The energy-saving Intel processor reduces power consumption. The USB 2.0 ports allow linking other external storage drives to it at faster speed. The one touch USB backup allows data transfers to the NAS device. It is a perfect storage solution for modern businesses that require a reliable, high performance and secure data center to store all their important digital assets.
The hard drive to choose depends on the type of business and storage needs. Users who need to edit videos or images need faster transfer speeds and good storage capacity, while other users may just need a secure environment for their important data.