Spring Break
Mini hard drive provides ample storage at reasonable price
Karl Kuchs
Issue date: 12/8/06 Section: Entertainment
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Computers are essential in today's society. This has become important to have a reliable method of transferring files from one computer to another. As file sizes have increased the demand for large capacity storage systems has also risen. Manufacturers have difficulty finding a balance between storage size, physical size and price. Edge Tech Corp had developed a product line that finds a good balance between these three constraints. The DiskGO 1" Mini Portable Hard Drive combines a 1" hard disk with a USB 2.0 interface to create a convenient, reliable and cost effective storage device available in 4GB, 6GB, 8GB and 12GB sizes. These devices have a starting price of 75 dollars.
Although the DiskGO 1" Mini Portable Hard Drive is much smaller than standard hard drives, it is still larger than your standard flash drive. The mini drive measures in at 1.9" long by 1.9" wide by 0.63" tall. At this size the mini drive is small enough to carry in one's pocket without the awkwardness of other drives. The housing of the device is made from a combination of aluminum and plastic that creates a sleek design. The nicest design feature of the mini drive is its pivoted USB connector which rotates into the housing when not in use. Not only does this protects the USB connector from damage, but also reduces the overall footprint of the device. The connector can be placed into one of three positions to provide stability to the drive when in use. The mini drive also contains a blue activity LED the lets the user know data is transferring between the device and the computer.
The device is simple to use. The mini drive requires no additional software, works on almost any computer and the USB interface supplies the power needed for the device to operate. When plugged in, it just shows up as an additional drive on the computer. The time to transfer files seems a bit slower than most other flash devices, however, there are no significant differences. Being a mechanical drive, the device does generate heat. After transferring almost 4GB the model was quite warm but not hot enough to warrant much concern. One surprising thing was that after not accessing the drive for almost four hours, but still leaving the drive plugged in, the mini drive did not seem to cool down too much. One of the main concerns I had with this device was how well a mechanical drive would hold up to the normal abuse sustained to portable devices. The resilience of this device was tested one day when I threw my bag, which was holding the mini drive, across the room almost four feet, as luck would have it the side that my bag landed on was the side containing the mini drive. Upon realizing what I had done I was surprised to find that the mini drive had not been greatly damaged. The drive still worked and did not lose any files. The only damage was to the device that locks the pivot arm into one of the four preset positions.
Although the DiskGO 1" Mini Portable Hard Drive is much smaller than standard hard drives, it is still larger than your standard flash drive. The mini drive measures in at 1.9" long by 1.9" wide by 0.63" tall. At this size the mini drive is small enough to carry in one's pocket without the awkwardness of other drives. The housing of the device is made from a combination of aluminum and plastic that creates a sleek design. The nicest design feature of the mini drive is its pivoted USB connector which rotates into the housing when not in use. Not only does this protects the USB connector from damage, but also reduces the overall footprint of the device. The connector can be placed into one of three positions to provide stability to the drive when in use. The mini drive also contains a blue activity LED the lets the user know data is transferring between the device and the computer.
The device is simple to use. The mini drive requires no additional software, works on almost any computer and the USB interface supplies the power needed for the device to operate. When plugged in, it just shows up as an additional drive on the computer. The time to transfer files seems a bit slower than most other flash devices, however, there are no significant differences. Being a mechanical drive, the device does generate heat. After transferring almost 4GB the model was quite warm but not hot enough to warrant much concern. One surprising thing was that after not accessing the drive for almost four hours, but still leaving the drive plugged in, the mini drive did not seem to cool down too much. One of the main concerns I had with this device was how well a mechanical drive would hold up to the normal abuse sustained to portable devices. The resilience of this device was tested one day when I threw my bag, which was holding the mini drive, across the room almost four feet, as luck would have it the side that my bag landed on was the side containing the mini drive. Upon realizing what I had done I was surprised to find that the mini drive had not been greatly damaged. The drive still worked and did not lose any files. The only damage was to the device that locks the pivot arm into one of the four preset positions.
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