G-Technology G-DRIVE mobile USB 500GB 5400RPM Portable External Hard Drive 0G01664 (White) Review

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(More customer reviews)White MacBooks are great computers for low cost. They have almost everything their silver Pro siblings have, with the major exception of a FireWire port. All external devices must use USB with a white MacBook or MacBook Air.
USB external hard drives do not have the speed to match the rapid data transfer and copy rates of FireWire 800. G-Technology's G-Drive Mobile USB, with its attractive all-white case and cable combination, was designed and created to optimize performance with MacBooks. (Reminder: this drive works perfectly well with every Mac!)The first item on the external drive menu for all Macintosh owners is creating a Time Machine backup. Most people set it and forget it, which is fine. After you eject the USB bus-powered G-Drive Mobile from a Mac, you can tuck it and its cable into your gadget bag, pack, or purse, and reconnect it later at the same location or different destination. No AC electric connection is required.
Time Machine allows you to archive other files and folders on an external drive, that are unrelated to the automatic backup content. Most people use a USB flash drive for this purpose, but be aware the former is possible.
In a series of comparative speed tests, the 5400RPM G-Drive Mobile USB with its 8MB cache was the fastest external USB drive. If you are accustomed to moving large quantities of data via FireWire, you can expect roughly a 25 percent longer duration with this USB unit.
Other companies sell bus-powered USB external drives for lower prices than this product. You get what you pay for. G-Technology is a top-tier professional external drive manufacturer. Its FireWire, SATA, and RAID drives are standard equipment in the audio and film industries, and at Apple retail stores. Spend a little more and get a better disk, with a 3-year factory warranty.
No case is provided for mobility protection. That is our only criticism. MyMac awards G-Drive Mobile USB a MyMac Review Rating recommendation of 9 out of 10.

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Portable USB Drive for Apple MacBook G-DRIVE mobile USB hard drives are the perfect compliment to your new Apple MacBook. Weighing in at less than 9 oz., G-DRIVE mobile USB is the ultra-portable and stylish way to travel with up to 500GB of storage space for your important documents, MP3s, digital video and digital photo files. G-DRIVE mobile USB is bus powered, eliminating the need to carry an external AC power supply. Portability was never so easy! Easy to Setup -Time Machine ready! G-DRIVE mobile USB is formatted at the factory HFS+ with Journaling and is Time Machine ready right out of the box! A simple initialization is all it takes to prepare G-DRIVE mobile USB for use with Windows systems! The Best Warranty & Support in the Business G-Tech's 3-Year WarrantyG-DRIVE mobile USB is backed by a standard 3-year factory warranty.

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LaCie Rugged All-Terrain 500 GB FireWire 800/ FireWire 400/USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 301371 Review

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(More customer reviews)
The LaCie 250 GB Rugged Hard Disk with FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB2.0 is a great unit that is ideal for those with fire-wire ports built-in to their laptops and computers. Unfortunately while most Macs have fire-wire built-in, right now the majority of Windows based laptops do not. That is changing as more PCs are getting them built-in. I need drives for several computers, including Mac, Windows and Linux boxes. Suffice it to say that this drive is definitely a must own if you have a Mac and may even be worth installing a fire-wire card if you have a PC.
While it is no secret that I love my WD hard-drives, the LaCie drive definitely outperforms it in a few key areas. So depending on your needs, it may be well worth the small premium to pick up the LaCie.
Don't get me wrong, when it comes to value and best performance for your buck the Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive (Intense Blue) is a great option. Like the LaCie, it has a variety of color options including black, red, white and blue. Of course changing colors on your LaCie is much easier than buying a different color WD drive when the mood strikes. The rugged color bands are interchangeable. The WD also doesn't have the "rugged" edges of the LaCie, and it only has USB 2.0 which makes it impractical for certain situations.
Namely, if you want to run something off your external drive, such as a program or a media library, the performance of USB alone is just not as good. Just ignore the specifications and numbers, because from first hand experience I can tell you fire-wire definitely performs faster for large backups or regular data access. It's just faster.
The LaCie is also more versatile. Even if you are planning on using it for USB only right now, having the fire-wire means that if you get another computer that is capable you already have the option built in. That may be a stretch, but if you are planning on getting a new laptop within the next year from one of the big brands you can pretty much plan on them having fire-wire.
Now there are a few slight advantages that the WD has over the LaCie. The LaCie is definitely slightly bigger and thicker, and it's also more expensive. Still, the difference is small enough that the pros will probably outweigh those small cons, especially for Mac users.
Pros
+ Great versatility with fire-wire 400, 800, and USB 2.0
+ Fire-Wire speeds give you better response times for online data access
+ Nice size with aluminum shell and "rugged" edges that hold up regular use
+ USB or FW powered, so no A/C required, which is great for portability
+ USB power sharing option allows you to hook up a USB hub, etc.
+ Works well on Windows Vista, XP and Mac OS X and older versions too
+ You can set up your own disk encryption for security and privacy
+ Nice looks, and the brushed surface scratches much less than my WD drives
+ Other color options for your rubber bumpers are sold separately
+ Turns on and off with your computer or easily ejected via system tray
+ Easy driver-less installation really works!
+ Included backup software is less buggy than WD and may be useful for some
+ 250 GB capacity is decent for most users, but I hope a larger size is coming SOON!
+ The 2 year warrantee is good, but not as good as WD's 3 and 5 year warrantees depending on model
Cons
- Priced higher than WD on a dollar per gigabyte basis
- Larger GB capacity drives not widely available from LaCie though they are offered by WD
- Form factor is slightly larger and thicker than the WD passport drive
- Warrantee is also shorter than WD
- The *rugged* thing may be oversold, and I don't recommend dropping it
- Still no standard Linux drivers or software included, but there are workarounds
- Have to spend your cash to get a case that should have been included
Conclusion
This drive is great or those who want a portable drive for backups or running a media library application like iTunes or Media Center. I only wish they sold it in larger capacities. The premium price may be worth it for those who need that extra edge in speed offered by fire-wire connectivity.
Enjoy!


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All those videos ready to be downloaded but so little available space. Fear not, LaCie 301371 Rugged 500 GB External Hard Drive is here. At under 12 ounces, and nearly pocket size, it's hard to believe that the external LaCie 301371 Rugged 500 GB USB 2.0 / FireWire Hard Drive has space for so much data storage. With specially designed rugged protection, this drive is at home with your desktop or notebook, and you. The exclusive creation of world-renown designer Neil Poulton, this portable storage solution offers the supreme speed of FireWire 800 along with FireWire 400 and Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interfaces for true universal connectivity. Conveniently bus-powered and plug and play, it's ideal for backup, video storage and large data volume exchange on the go. Simply plug it into just about any computer anywhere for backup, video storage and large data volume exchange. Its unique scratch-protected aluminum shell and shock-resistant rubber bumper make the LaCie Rugged Hard Disk especially resistant to harsh elements for extra protection along the road of your adventures. Max Sustained Transfer Rate - FireWire 800 - up to 57MB/s FireWire 400 - up to 40MB/s Hi-Speed USB 2.0 - up to 36MB/s Average Seek Time (Write) -

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Sabrent SBT-UHPA USB 2.0 High Speed External Seven Port Mini Hub w/ LED's & AC Power Adapter Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm on my third one of these and still haven't got one that works properly. Either XP tells me it's a USB 1.1 or it fails when certain devices are plugged into it. If you're lucky, it's a cheap hub if the USB devices you have will work. Otherwise you'll regret it.
The light show is really pretty, if you want it for the lights, but they are useless for the hub. They are not for in-use or activity.

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