They have aluminum cases and normal USB 3.0 connectors, as well as a reasonable level of resistance to extreme temps

Sep 13, 2014 08:23 GMT  ·  By

Transfer speeds over the USB 3.0 interface can be really high, but most storage devices, SSDs included, don't have what it takes to use the full 5 Gbps bandwidth. That's why SSDs that do manage to use more than half of that potential stand out.

Austrian company Angelbird Technologies has just introduced a collection of solid state drives that still don't come close to the top 625 maximum potential of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology.

Still, they do have the ability to transfer data at 450 MB/s, or at least allow it to be read from them at that speed. The write speed is a fair bit lower, but not jarringly so: 390 MB/s.

Or course, performance will vary depending on the capacity, and there are three capacity options here: 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB.

You'll notice that the highest-end, most capacious drive has the same storage space as a certain memory card that came out the other day. But we digress.

The Angelbird SSD2go series

This is the brand under which the company's new portable solid state drives are selling, for prices of $179.99 / €179.99 to $449.99 / €449.99, no matter what exchange rates say.

To be more precise, the 128 GB drive has a tag of $179.99 / €179.99, the 256 GB unit ships at $249.99 / €249.99, and the 512 GB model is shipping (or will ship) for $449.99 / €449.99.

All three storage devices have cases made of CNC-machined aluminum treated with a pearl blasted and hard-anodised finish. That way, they will be smooth but not that likely to get fingerprints all over them.

The newcomers can withstand temperatures of -20°C to 70°C (-4°F to 158°F), and they also have what it takes to survive -40°C to 85°C (-40°F to 185°F) when simply stored in a room somewhere, unused.

Furthermore, they natively use UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol, it's why they have such good performance), as well as custom packed original micron NAND (16nm). The MTBF is of 2 million hours.

All in all, the newcomers measure 89 x 70 x 10 mm / 3.50 x 2.75 x 0.39 inches and weigh 90 grams / 3.17 each. Respectable parameters really, even if they do make them a bit wider than normal portable SSDs.

Availability

Sales of the Angelbird SSD2go series ship with a 5-year warranty and support overload protection (ESD, EMS), TRIM, ECC, and SMART technologies. You can select Silver, Blue, Black, and Red colors, or even personalize them with two-line engraved messages if you wish.

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