Backing up of all the important and sensitive data is a good thing. However, this good habit also leads many to create a backup of backups, just in case to be certain if the original and backup got corrupted or compromised, their files will remain still safe. While, it’s not a thing to condone but it creates a problem of redundancy and clogging up unnecessary storage which you could have used it for something else. To address such issue, SanDisk has comes up with a Memory Vault flash drive that promises to keep the data intact for up to 100 years.

Packaging:
SanDisk bundles the Memory Vault with a USB 2.0 microUSB cable, a quick start guide, writeable labels for the Vault and a storage pouch.

Design:

Memory Vault is a flash drive but don’t think of it as a conventional looking USB flash drive. It has a rectangular soap-like design and boasts a metallic casing that not only makes it look premium; it adds to the durability as well. The metallic chassis also adds to the drive’s weight and features a rubber at the bottom for grip, an LED light on the top and a USB port on the side. Overall, the SanDisk Memory Vault sports a clean design and is built to survive the harshest of conditions.

Performance:
The rugged physical structure is just one aspect of the product. In fact, the magic lies inside which SanDisk touts for reliability. SanDisk calls it the Chronolock technology which does the work in combination with the proprietary ASIC controller, non-volatile memory and a system firmware to tie the two together. Now as you would imagine, it’s virtually impossible for anyone testing SanDisk’s claim of protecting data up to 100 years, they have illustrated for the curious how they achieved this conclusion. SanDisk has a detailed explanation on this page.

Since it functions like a normal flash drive, we didn’t face any compatibility issues with Windows OS and Mac OS X. As for the speed, the Memory Vault displayed a satisfactory performance with read speeds ranging in between 15-17MB/s and write speeds hovering around 3-5MB/s.

SanDisk targets Memory Vault as a device to backup content but we were surprised to find SanDisk didn’t bundle any backup software. Of course, drag-and-drop is the easiest method but a tool where a user has an option to backup the content segregated on the basis of images, videos etc. could be useful.

SanDisk’s Memory Vault drives come with something called as “Preserve-only” mode. What this mode does is that it disables writing on the disk and will make it as “read-only.” This according to SanDisk is done to extend the lifespan of the flash memory. However, we see a few issues cropping with this feature. First, is that SanDisk does not explicitly mention the number of read and writes that can be done on the Memory Vault before it activates Preserve-only mode and secondly, even if it did activate, there seems to be no way of deleting the content since it basically locks up the device. Perhaps, if SanDisk would warn users before the activation of Preserve-only so that a user would be ready to store the most valuable data to him on the drive.

Conclusion:
SanDisk has priced the 8GB Memory Vault at Rs. 3,499 and 16GB at Rs. 5,499, which may seem an awful lot but the fact that it helps protecting your graduation images or your first child’s birthday pictures for more years possibly than any other backup solution.

Rating:
Pros: Build Quality, Data retention up to 100 years
Cons: Limited Storage options

When it comes to selling USB external drives, companies have few selling points to entice consumers. They can lure them on the price front, storage capacity, looks or speed. And Seagate with its GoFlex Slim is targeting users seeking great looks as well as speed.

GoFlex Slim is the thinnest in Seagate’s arsenal, measuring just 9mm, which is as thick as a pencil. To keep the thickness down, GoFlex Slim is little wider and taller than its counterparts but good thing is that it is still pocketable.

The drive has a black anodized metal enclosure that makes it more durable and sturdy. However, there’s one little issue – the drive picks up fingerprints pretty easily. Not that a big issue but it is kind of irritating to wipe the drive if you use it a lot.

A device no matter how aesthetically pleasing, is useless if it can’t do its intended work efficiently. But I’m happy to report that GoFlex Slim fared pretty well. Housed under aluminum enclosure is a 320GB 7200 RPM drive coupled with the support of USB 3.0 interface, ensuring faster transfer. Needless to say, the drive is still compatible with PCs using USB 2.0 interface but the transfer speed will be restricted as per the USB 2.0 limitation.

Other couple of things that need a special mention are that the drives are formatted to use either with Windows or Mac. NTFS drivers are pre-loaded on the drive so that the drive can be used simultaneously on a Mac machine as well as Windows. However, Mac users won’t be able to use it as a Time Machine device unless reformatted to HFS+.

Another thing is that the drive comes with a detachable adapter. The adapter is a connector that integrates the USB 3.0 port but in case, you want to use the eSATA or FireWire interfaces, a purchasable adapter can be hooked with the GoFlex Drive to enhance its functionality. Moreover, you can use the drive to use it with the GoFlex Net media device or FreeAgent HD media player.

All in all, Seagate’s GoFlex Slim is a great storage device with the flair of looks and of course, high-speed. However, the only gripe with the whole setup is the limited space of 320GB. You cannot purchase a higher-capacity one in case, the drive starts to fill up. Hopefully, Seagate could bring a higher-capacity GoFlex Slim in the near future.

For now, the 320GB GoFlex Slim goes for around Rs.5,500.

Rating:
Pros: Sleek, Excellent Performance
Cons: No other SKU than 320GB

Seagate has announced its GoFlex Satellite HDD for Indian consumers. This new HDD comes with an integrated battery and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n that allows any Wi-Fi-enabled devices to take advantage of the HDD storage wirelessly.

Android and iPhone users can download dedicated apps from respective stores to consume content directly from the hard drive, which can continuously stream videos for up to 5 hours and can connect to three different Wi-Fi devices.

GoFlex Satellite comes in capacity of 500GB and allows content loading via USB 3.0 interface, which can be segregated easily with the included Media Sync software.

GoFlex Satellite will be available by end of this month for Rs.11,500 excluding taxes.

Seagate has launched a new 4TB GoFlex hard drive, which is the industry’s first external hard drive to sport such capacity. Coming in a new streamlined industrial design, the GoFlex Desk Drive can hold up to 4 terabytes of data, enough to hold over 2000 HD movies.

Additionally, the new drive supports GoFlex adapter that makes the drive compatible with USB 3.0 or FireWire 800 and comes with pre-loaded back up software.

The 4TB GoFlex Desk Drive is available in United States for $249.99.

Press Release

Feeling a bit restricted with the limited storage of your iDevice? Well, Seagate has got you covered with their GoFlex Satellite portable HDD. The 500GB hard drive is integrated with Wi-Fi and rechargeable battery, which can be connected to your iPod, iPhone or the iPad to stream content wirelessly on the device. All a user needs is a free GoFlex Media app from the App Store to get started.

Although Seagate’s target market for the device seems to be iPad owners, the device will work well with other Wi-Fi-enabled devices (read Android phones and tablets) with the help of a web browser. An Android app is expected by this summer.

The GoFlex Satellite supports USB 3.0 for faster loading of the media and has a continuous battery life of up to 5 hours or standby up to 25 hours.

GoFlex Satellite is bundled with a car and wall charger and is priced at $199.99.

Product Page

WD has brought its updated external HDD line to the Indian market. They’ve introduced the My Passport Essential, My Passport Essential SE portable hard drive and My Book Essential HDD, all equipped with the latest SuperSpeed USB 3.0.

Users will be able to transfer data to USB 3.0-compatible PCs at speeds to up to 5Gb/s, which means a two-hour HD video will transfer in about 3 minutes as compared to 13 minutes via USB 2.0 interface. The drives are obviously backward compatible in case a user wants to transfer data from a PC which does not support USB 3.0 yet.

Additionally, WD also announced a new 3TB HDD that will be available under the My Book Essential range.

All the drives sell with a 3-year limited warranty and are priced ranging from Rs.4,299 to Rs.10,999.

LG Electronics has announced a new range of external USB hard drives for the South Korean market. The 2.5-inch drive is known as XD8 Waffle due to its waffle-like pattern on the sides with high gloss colors on the front and back.

Additionally, the drive boasts low power consumption, low noise design and comes with Nero Back it up software.

The price of the drives is as follows:

320GB – 90,000 won ($80)
500GB – 100,000 won ($88)
750GB – 140,000 won ($124)
1TB – 180,000 won ($159)

Kingston has announced a new USB flash drive for the Indian market. They’ve launched DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 that supports the new SuperSpeed USB standard, giving up to 10 times faster data transfer than a USB 2.0 supporting pen drive.

The DT Ultimate 3.0 claims to give a read/write speed of 80/60 MB per second, which means the drive can copy 4GB of data in just 1 min 15 secs.

Kingston has not revealed the price yet but we don’t expect it be cheap. It comes in capacities from 16GB to 64GB.

If you’re equally concerned about aesthetics and storing data on a USB pen drive, Kingston has got a perfect product for you. The DataTraveler (DT) Mini Fun has leaped to a new generation and comes in different color combinations. The drive’s rugged silicon housing protects the drive from exterior vulnerabilities and features a key loop to attach the drive to a bag.

The drives come in three different capacities – 2GB, 4GB and 8GB with different color combinations like light/dark green (2GB), light/dark blue (4GB) and black/red (8GB).

ADATA has announced a new flash drive for the Indian market that supports both eSATA and USB 2.0 interface. This makes N909 faster than most of USB 2.0-only supporting flash drives in the market.

It comes in capacities to up to 64GB and with the help of eSATA, it can read and write data to up to 90MB/s and 50MB/s respectively as compared to USB 2.0’s 33MB/s (read) and 25MB/s (write) speed.

Moreover, ADATA flash drive users can download software like UFDtoGO and Norton Internet Security 2010 (trial).

No word on the price.