7. Seagate Pocket Drive

By Ed Tittel and Justin Korelc

Lugging gigabytes worth of personal data files to and from school need not be a task encumbered by bulky 3.5" external drive enclosures and awkward external power adapters. There is a better way, and it is so portable it weighs less and is smaller than most power bricks those uncomfortable 3.5" drives require.

Seagate entertains the portability theme with its Pocket Drive series of USB 2.0 storage devices. The Pocket Drive lives up to its name: the unconventional hockey puck-like shape and tiny dimensions are easily accommodated within an Altoids mints tin and packs in up to 8 gigabytes of pictures, videos and personal data. The Pocket Drive's unusual design owes derives in part from the built-in retractable USB cable that carries data to and from a computer and also powers the device.

Internally, each Pocket Drive uses a 3,600 RPM magnetic disk drive much like those found in notebooks or desktops, only these are much smaller in size. The 2 MB cache and slow spindle speed are not the best for full-resolution video playback but will sustain short-length QuickTime movies without hesitation or glitch. Comparatively, larger transfers will show a significant performance difference over equal-size transfers using typical key fob style flash devices, such as the Memorex TravelDrive. However, a Pocket Drive operates completely silent so it will never interrupt a quiet study hall or library and stores considerably more than any of the largest conventional flash drives on the market.

If ever the need arises, a Pocket Drive can be used to boot from a plug-and-play compliant, USB-compatible BIOS and the appropriate boot image of choice. Windows-only utility software password-protects the drive from unauthorized use, and the drive itself is hot-plug compliant with many popular Linux distributions.

Large amounts of storage, a small footprint, silent operation and a retractable data/power cable make the Seagate Pocket Drive ideal for any on-the-go student who appreciates functional minimalist design. Retail packages are available in 2.5, 5, 6 and 8 GB capacities in the same hot-pluggable miniature enclosure, perfect for slipping into a pants pocket, purse or backpack pouch.