Crave

Hitachi SimpleDRIVE Mini Family

(Credit: Hitachi)

I had a chance on Friday to chat with reps from Hitachi, who told me about some new products in conjunction with the SimpleTech acquisition earlier this year. We've reviewed SimpleTech hard drives in the past, with positive results, so we're anxious to see how these two new drives compare to their predecessors.

Hitachi SimpleTOUGH HDD

(Credit: Hitachi)

Up to bat first is the SimpleTOUGH portable hard drive, a tough guy that claims to be one of the most rugged drives for an excessively abusive environment. The Hitachi reps claimed the drive can withstand a 10-foot drop, more than 5 feet more than the Iomega eGo Camo that boasted a 4.25-inch drop protection.

They also told me someone at Hitachi actually ran over one of the drives with a 1-ton commercial-class truck that belonged to one of their neighbors, and it lived to write another day! I'm sure Hitachi doesn't recommend running over the SimpleTOUGH yourself, but it sure as heck should be able to withstand the daily rigors of the average consumer.

It also has a built-in USB cord in its all-in-one design. Pricing for the SimpleTOUGH starts at $99 for the 250GB version, $120 for the 320GB, and $150 for to the 500GB. All drives are shipping now.

If you don't want to pay the slight premium for the SimpleTOUGH, Hitachi's got your back with the SimpleDRIVE Mini Portable, a more stylish and stripped down version of the SimpleTOUGH. It comes in multiple colors and offers local as well as online backup (2GB free for life on Mozy).

The SimpleDRIVE is available now in 250GB (red) for $90, 320GB (blue) for $110, and 500GB (textured carbon fiber) for $140. Click through the slideshow below for more images of both offerings.

Hitachi announces two new external hard drives

Toshiba adds snazzy new colors to HDD line

(Credit: Toshiba)

Toshiba's newest additions to their line of external portable hard drives come in 500GB($150) and 320GB($120) capacities with an array of new color choices including green and blue, but the most notable feature is all the enhanced backup software you get in the package.

The hard drive comes with backup solutions for both Mac and Windows OS. Windows users get the benefit of NTI's BackupNow EZ software for one-touch data backups and even grants the user the ability to create a boot disc or even boot directly off the drive itself. In addition, the software also offers personalized recommendations on the best way to protect and store sensitive data.

Mac users, on the other hand, get NTI's Shadow 4 file-based backup software and can schedule incremental backups in a "set it and forget it" environment. This new line of external HDDs also work with Apple's Time Machine right out of the box, giving these users a healthy amount of extra storage.

For those worried about data security on-the-go, Toshiba covers its bases with an extra password-protected, 256-bit encryption.

Both drives are available now on the Toshiba Web site.

The Iomega eGo Portable Mac Edition in Ruby Red is a looker.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

I'm very proud to announce CNET's most recent Editors' Choice product, the Iomega eGo Portable Mac Edition. Iomega has always registered excellent marks in our throughput and cost-per-gigabyte ratings, but this particular HDD uniquely combines three different ways to connect the drive to a computer: USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800.

The drive comes in three versions: a 500GB in ruby red, a 320GB in a cobalt blue, and a 250GB in alpine white. All of the drives come formatted to work with Macs out of the box, but you can easily format the drive back to Fat32 using the Mac Disk Utility to make it work with Windows.

In addition, all of Iomega's drives come with Iomega's "Drop Guard" feature that protects the drive from up to a 52-inch drop. We don't recommend testing that claim, but you should watch the video above for a little impromptu test.

Also, be sure to check out our full review of the Iomega eGo Portable Mac Edition for speed test results and a more detailed analysis.

Set it and forget it.

(Credit: Clickfree)

Clickfree just announced its new Traveler external hard drive that uses the same file-based transfer software we reviewed in the Clickfree Portable Backup Drive back in January. The difference is that this device uses solid-state technology for faster transfers and increased durability.

Clickfree stresses that its file-based software is different from other backup solutions that only create an image of the host computer onto their drives. During this "total backup," the drive will restore operating systems and applications, but also winds up restoring viruses, malware, and corrupt files.

Clickfree's automatic backup software only restores your "irreplaceable data," including personal photos, music, video, documents, e-mails, etc...the restore wizard bundled with the drive puts these files back into their original location after a crash, and you can even backup NAS, DVDs, and other external drives.

Smaller is indeed better.

(Credit: Clickfree)

Best of all, the drive uses solid-state technology, so it's much smaller than a normal hard drive, about the size of a hotel keycard. Unfortunately, solid-state prices aren't nearly as cheap as disk-based drives, so you're paying a premium for the speed and size benefits.

The Clickfree Traveler Drive is available now in 16GB ($80), 32GB ($150), and 64GB ($250) capacities. We currently have a 32GB model in the labs, so look for an in-depth review coming next week.

(Credit: RipNAS)

RipNAS announced their latest network attached storage devices this week--the Statement series--in solid-state drive and hard-disk drive formats. The RipNAS Statement is purported as the first CD ripping NAS device to come equipped with the former.

Based on the Windows Home Server OS and housed in a silver aluminum casing (designed to eliminate noise pollution), the Statement is capable of CD ripping, media streaming, and networked storage on either the 500GB SSD configuration (2 x 250GB SSDs) or the 3TB HDD configuration (2 x 1.5TB HDDs). The entire case measures 10 x 43 x 38 cm and is powered by a dual-core Atom CPU, has 2GBs of memory, and 4 USB ports.

It looks like the UK will get first dibs on the RipNAS Statement SSD and HDD for now, but no pricing information has been announced, nor the date it will be available in the U.S.

Fujitsu HandyDrive

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Fujitsu is fairly new to the external hard drive game, but they recently hit one out of the park with the Fujitsu HandyDrive. Each hard drive that makes its way through our labs seems to get cheaper and cheaper (from a cost per gigabyte standpoint), and the HandyDrive is no different. Since Fujitsu shipped us the 400GB version for our testing, we used the current retail price of $110 to calculate a $0.27 per gigabyte cost for the end user. Compare that to the last external drive we tested, the Transcend StoreJet 25 Mobile, which came out to $0.30 per gigabyte. Needless to say, budget storage fiends won't be disappointed by this device.

The drive comes in four capacities 250GB, 320GB, 400GB, and 500GB, and while there aren't any fancy extras like a super rugged exterior or an automatic backup feature, Fujitsu still impresses us with the HandyDrive's data transfer. Per usual, we transferred our 10GB folder of data back and forth and timed the results, and once again, it bested the competition with a lightning-fast 27.94 megabyte per second (MB/s) read and 22.5MB/s write.

Want to read more about how you can increase your storage for cheap? Check out our full review of the Fujitsu HandyDrive External Hard Drive.

Store more with the Fujitsu HandyDrive

Suffice it to say that the Transcend StoreJet 25 Mobile is tough as nails. As a matter of fact, Transcend describes it as "a cybernetic organism: living tissue over a metal endoskeleton." Alright, maybe they didn't go THAT far, but this little external hard drive can take a free-fall drop or two, for sure.

It's built with three layers of material protection from the elements: a durable silicone shell, a suspension bracket, and a thick rubber casing on the outside. While we don't recommend you use this hard drive for artillery, it's certainly strong enough to withstand daily travel to and from the workplace.

Check out the full review of the Transcend StoreJet 25 Mobile.

For the full Xbox Experience, you'll need one of these

Do you own an Xbox 360 without a hard drive? Well on November 19, the new Xbox Live Experience will require you to have at least 128MB of memory available so that the update can properly install. If you find yourself in this position, you most likely purchased the since-discontinued Xbox 360 Core system.

In an effort to allow everyone who owns an Xbox 360 to enjoy the New Xbox Experience, Microsoft has announced the Xbox 360 Memory Upgrade Program. It will offer those who don't have the means to install the update two options. Customers can either enter their console's serial number on a special Web site and receive a free 512MB memory card or pay $20 for a 20GB Xbox 360 hard-disk drive.

We should note that the while the 512MB memory card will allow you to enjoy the new Xbox Live, you still won't be able to participate in Xbox Live Primetime (game shows and other entertainment) or enjoy video downloads. Because of this, we'd recommend going with the $20 offer for the 20GB hard drive. Not only is it a great deal, but you'll be able to fully enjoy everything the new Xbox Live Experience has to offer.

On Monday, Western Digital introduced its new 500GB capacity portable USB drive for its My Passport Elite and Essential lines.

Features for both of the USB-powered Elite and Essential lines include synchronization software that lets users sync their changes and protect their information with 128-bit encryption, as well as plug-and-play capability with gaming consoles to make it easy to play music and view photos and video files on a TV.

My Passport Elite portable drives are available in bronze, titanium, westminster blue and cherry red. Additional features include:

• Capacity gauge that enables users to know at-a-glance how much space is available.


• Powerful automatic backup software lets users designate files and folders for automatic and continuous backup.


• The ability to retrieve forgotten files from the road from any MioNet-enabled PC (compatible with Windows only) and copy them to My Passport portable drive using the unique MioNet Key software.


• Google software.

The Passport Elite comes in Westminster Blue..

(Credit: Western Digital)

and in Cherry Red.

(Credit: Western Digital)

Weighing in at less than 7 ounces, My Passport Elite 500 GB USB portable drive will be available for $219.99. My Passport Essential 500 GB USB portable drives are available in 11 colors and is being sold for $199.99. Both are currently on Western Digital's site.