6. Data Backup, Yes - But Not Necessarily For Beginners

The enclosed CD contains an electronic manual and a powerful data backup tool, Retrospect Express 6.5.

While the utility has an impressive range of functions, its many options mean that average users might not find it all that easy to deal with. Once you've figured out the user interface though there's no further hurdles between you and fully-automatic, scheduled or script-controlled backup. Data can be optionally encrypted and password-protected to guard against unauthorized access, and data compression is also possible. From individual files, folders and partitions all the way to the entire system: there's no backup job the program can't handle, the vendor claims.

Conclusion

While Seagate's 5 GB Pocket Hard Drive and the 40 GB Combo 1.8" Ion from IOGear differ widely in size and available memory capacities, both aim to satisfy the growing demand for mobile storage that goes hand in hand with today's PC-user nomads.

Seagate is obviously positioning the Pocket Hard Drive as an alternative to popular but far more expensive USB flash drives. Its much lower price of $32 per GB would seem to imply that the days of the classic USB flash drive are numbered. Nearly everything about this innovative product based on a 1" hard drive is first-rate: the performance is in line with what you can fairly expect from a hard drive that spins at 3600 rpm. Both the mechanical as well as the functional design proved well-conceived. Plus, the device has an elegant, cutting-edge look.

Our only beef is with the cheapish plastic casing and the inadequate length of the interface cable. A lot of users would appreciate an extension cable in the box. However, whether you merely use it to tote around your MP3 collection or to transport important business data from point A to point B, the Pocket Drive does its job reliably well. MAC users, too, are bound to like this product.

Meanwhile IOGear's 40 GB Combo 1.8" Ion Drive is in another league altogether. Marketed as a product for the mobile professional, it has to hold its own versus competition from the likes of Apricorn's EZ Bus Mini USB 40 GB and Archos' Arcdisc 40 GB. As far as the performance goes, it does this admirably. After all, all three are based on the very same C4K40 series from Hitachi. The backup software that comes with the IOGear drive is also more than sufficient for professional requirements. The accessories package is generous and includes long interface cables and two power adapters. The biggest drawback of this drive, however, is its ponderous weight, since it won't work at all without power adapter cables. That means that the user always has to schlep around at least two cables. Plus, the included 6-pin Firewire cable is utterly useless for connecting the unit to the Firewire port of the "mobile professional's" notebook - you'll excuse the quote. But we don't want to criticize the Combo 1.8" Ion more than is warranted. If you're in the market for an external hard drive that is capable of conveniently transporting large volumes of data from one desktop PC to another and if you're not primarily concerned with low weight and volume, this drive will serve you well. For unlike the competing products, it is compatible with the two Firewire and USB 2.0 universal interfaces.

But we recommend that everyone else - from mobile professionals to private users and both PC and Mac fans - give the nod to one of these two rival products. For around the same price of $220, they only feature a single USB 2.0 port, but because they are powered via an interface cable they prove significantly easier to deal with for general mobile use.