Large-Capacity I-O Data Portable HDD Has Both USB 3.0 and 2.0 Ports

It appears that Gigabyte is not the only company looking to the portable storage market, as I-O Data has also put together a certain device, one that can be seen as fairly unique as far as connectivity goes.

Gigabyte's Pure Rock may be looked upon with reservations because, though it has multiple capacity options, it does not have USB 3.0.

Basically, the USB 2.0 is more or less past the point where it is convenient for storage units of 300 or more gigabytes, and the Pure Rock goes as high as 750 GB.

As such, had the HDPA-UT from I-O Data restricted itself to the same connection, it would have been odd, considering that, in addition to a 500GB model, there is also a 1 TB drive.

Granted, I-O Data did give the product an USB 2.0 port but, oddly enough, it also implemented an USB 3.0 connector right beside it.

The older USB 2.0 port is, obviously, meant to give the drives the ability to communicate with older systems.

That said, the USB 3.0 connector is still backward compatible with USB 2.0 and the product will run on just the energy provided by the connection itself.

All in all, I-O Data's HDPA-UT measures 75 (W) x 128 (D) x 14 (17mm for the 1TB model) (H) mm) and can be colored piano black or snow white.

What's more, a soft rubber base prevents drive slipping and makes it easier to lose hold of, while the rest of the casing boasts a scratch-resistant, high-gloss coating.

Unfortunately, I-O Data's dual-interface portable hard disk drive has not yet become available, being scheduled to start selling sometime during the month of February, 2011.

The 500 GB model will be priced at $151, while the 1 TB HDPA-UT will feature a tag of $215. A one-year warranty is included for both.