SimpleTech SimpleDrive 160GB HDD review

Is this the way to store your data?

30 November 2007 13:00 GMT / By Stephen Patrick

If you own a notebook or share multimedia files between a number of machines, then it pays to have a small and compact hard drive.

This hard drive takes a standard notebook 2.5-inch drive with a capacity of 250GB and wraps it in a designer case. Pininfarina, the same people responsible for the Ferrari sports car, has designed the streamlined box. So it comes as no surprise to find it’s red and black with a svelte tapering end.

With credentials such as Pininfarina we were expecting more in the way of quality, as the case feels rather flimsy and the two small feet on the base of the unit fell off shortly after we started using it.

There is a standard USB connection for hooking up to your laptop, as well as a second cable for use with older USB 1.1 machines. When it came to performance, it’s a different matter as we found it could write 1GB of data to it in a little over a minute, making it a reasonable fast disk to use.

It also proved surprisingly versatile as it comes supplied with a CD-ROM that sports StorageSync, a neat tool for backing up files from your main machine. The software proved easy to set up and incredibly easy to use and adds to the value of the device.

Verdict

Overall, while we were too impressed with the finish of the device, when it came to using it, there's no doubting the speed and versatility of this spacious external hard drive.

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Review Recap

Made by: SimpleTech
Price as reviewed: £70
The good: Fast, looks great, reasonable price
The bad: Cheap plastic construction
Quick verdict: Yes it’s got a novel design and the speed is more than acceptable but the build quality is what lets this device down
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