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
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