Portable storage gets smaller--and bigger

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

Portable data transfer devices keep getting roomier than the old 1.44M floppy disk that used to be the data medium of the sneakernet. Now low-cost hard drives smaller than a pack of gum can carry around barrels of data. They're almost useful enough to revive sneakernetting.

Portable data transfer devices keep getting roomier than the old 1.44M floppy disk that used to be the data medium of the sneakernet. Now low-cost hard drives smaller than a pack of gum can carry around barrels of data. They're almost useful enough to revive sneakernetting.Hardly a day goes by in the GCN Lab without our having to move a gigabyte of data from one computer to another. Despite our Fast Ethernet we, like many agencies, must be sensitive to bandwidth use with files that large.[IMGCAP(2)] We evaluated seven carry-around storage devices for their portability, capacity, ease of use, transfer speed and price. We also weighed the value of features such as embedded backup or security software.The 40G CMS Peripherals Automatic Backup System Plus was very easy to use--fully plug-and-play under Microsoft Windows XP. From the size of the box, we expected something larger than the palm-sized ABS Plus. It could transfer our 100M test file to a PC with an old Universal Serial Bus 1.1 port in 2 minutes, 3 seconds. A machine with a faster USB 2.0 connection received the data in half the time.The 5- by 3- by 1-inch ABS weighed a highly portable 5.8 ounces. At $442, it was a bit on the expensive side, but it merited our Reviewer's Choice designation.The Iomega HDD Portable Hard Drive was lower-priced at $200 and likewise had USB 2.0 connectivity. It too was easy to install. But, unlike the ABS, the HDD stored only 20G and was less portable at 7.6 ounces and 7.5 by 3.5 by 1 inches.[IMGCAP(3)] The larger dimensions weren't what hindered portability. Like Iomega's Peerless cartridge drive and Predator CD-rewritable drive, the HDD must be disassembled for carrying around. An attachment to the main body housed the USB port and power connection. The rather flimsy attachment didn't lock into place and easily came off.But the HDD was fast. Even with a USB 1.1 port on a notebook PC, the HDD could move 100M in 1 minute, 57 seconds--almost the fastest time in the review.The HDD received another Reviewer's Choice as well as our Bang for the Buck designation.Sony Electronics Inc. is known for large-capacity media storage devices, and its Memory Stick MSG-128A is taking off in portable storage, too. We gave it another Reviewer's Choice designation.The paper-thin Memory Stick was only an inch long and a half-inch wide, but it held up to 128M. Of course, it's easy to lose something so small, and a further concern was interfacing the Memory Stick with a PC. Sony has developed several ways, and we tested two.The $90 MSAC-US5 Memory Stick reader was an optical mouse with a USB 1.1 slot in back where the palm rests. An optical mouse has no trackball to maintain and requires no special surface plane. Despite the extra slot for the Memory Stick, the MSAC-US5 was the standard size and weight for an optical mouse.The Memory Stick, however, transferred its data far more slowly through the mouse. We moved 100M in an average 6 minutes, 20 seconds--that's only 3 Mbps instead of the rated 12 Mbps for USB 1.1.Sony also makes a PC Card reader called the MSAC-PC2, which we clocked at an average 3 minutes, 47 seconds for 100M--a little slower than the ABS Plus but much faster than the Sony mouse.At $70, we judged the MSAC-PC2 more portable but less practical than the mouse, because it wouldn't work with any computer lacking a PC Card slot. [IMGCAP(4)] We expect to see 512M and 1G Memory Sticks in the not-too-distant future. And Sony is developing a silicon-chip fingerprint reader for the Memory Stick that would let users biometrically secure their computers as well as store large amounts of data in a credit card format.In our last portable storage roundup [GCN, July 23, 2001, Page 38] we looked at the Type II Toshiba PC Card Hard Disk. This year's version was about the size of the Sony MSAC-PC2, only a little thicker and heavier. Weighing less than a pound, it could store an impressive 5G and transfer at above-average speeds.We moved 100M in 1 minute, 51 seconds--the fastest transfer in the roundup by almost a minute. The Toshiba didn't have as much capacity as the 40G ABS Plus or the 20G Iomega HDD, and at $500 it was the most expensive device in the review. But it would be well worth the price for users who work mostly on notebook PCs. And it receives a Reviewer's Choice designation for the second year in a row.You might have seen some keychain-size portable storage devices worn around the neck of your network administrator or hanging from a technician's pocket. They're becoming the modern version of the floppy disk and should hit 2G capacity soon, possibly by year's end. The USBDrive from JMTek LLC wasn't the fastest keychain drive in the review, and it didn't have the highest capacity, but it did have the best form factor. Weighing only 0.6 ounces and measuring 2.5 by 0.5 by 0.3 inches, it transferred up to 128M from a USB 1.1 interface.The USBDrive was the slowest of the USB keychain drives but the most portable and rugged. We transferred 100M in an average 4 minutes, 3 seconds.The USBDrive costs only $80 for 128M--real Bang for the Buck. No wonder so many techies are using it.Like the other devices in this review, the USB keychain drives installed without hassle. They needed drivers only for Windows 9x.The M-Systems DiskOnKey transferred 100M in a blazing 2 minutes, 47 seconds--almost as fast as the ABS Plus. It was the highest-capacity keychain drive in the review, capable of holding up to 512M. It came standard with encryption software that was easy to use and added a good measure of security for portable data.The only problem we found with the security software came in enlarging the size of the encrypted partition. The software by default formatted the entire drive, not just the encrypted part, which meant all information was erased before we could change the partition's size.Despite this flaw, we were pleased to see encryption capability on such a small and useful tool.[IMGCAP(5)] The DiskOnKey was the largest of the USB keychains, weighing 0.8 ounces and measuring about 4 inches long, 1 inch wide and half an inch thick. The Sony Micro Vault was the lowest-capacity drive in this review, storing only 64M for $150. It was, however, capable of fast data transfers, averaging 50M every 1 minute, 10 seconds. But at 3.5 by 1.3 by 0.5 inches, it was more macro than micro. The Micro Vault was too large to carry around as readily as the USB keychains or the DiskOnKey.On the plus side, the Vault was easy to use; no drivers were needed for Windows 2000, Millennium Edition, XP or Mac OS 9.0 environments.Although the Micro Vault ranked a step below the other USB keychain drives, it still could transfer a considerable amount of data in a flash. Its security software was easier to use than the DiskOnKey's.These small USB devices might not satisfy transfer needs for really large files; a larger external USB hard drive such as the Iomega HDD or ABS Plus would be a better fit.For a predominantly notebook PC environment, the Sony Memory Stick and PC Card drive are the best combination.

CMS Peripherals Automatic Backup System Plus

Henrik G. De Gyor

Toshiba PC Card Hard Disk

Henrik G. De Gyor

Iomega HDD Portable Hard Drive

Henrik G. De Gyor

Sony Memory Stick MSG-128a

Henrik G. De Gyor

JMTek USB Drive

Henrik G. De Gyor

These devices take a load off bandwidth-starved networks
and let users move data almost as easily as on floppy disks

























Meet the mouse
















Tiny and cheap























NEXT STORY: People on the move

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.