14 DAY TRIAL // External hard disk drives may not be as fast as SATA models meant to stay in cases' trays, but they do have all other capabilities and their own assets that make them convenient backup solutions, among other things.
The past couple of years definitely saw external storage solutions going through a phase of popularity surge, much like netbooks did, albeit not to the same extent.
Hard drives can be seen as part of the forefront, as not just 3.5-inch drives, but also the 2.5-inch models have been getting launched.
In fact, a whole new form factor, that of 1.8 inches, was developed, giving a whole new meaning to the terms compact HDD.
Nowadays, external storage devices can be classified as portable or non-portable, even though most of them are usually easy enough to move about anyway.
The portable ones are 2.5-inch or smaller units, since they fit inside pockets, pouches, bags easily and are light.
3.5-inch external drives usually end up sitting or standing on a desk or table, or whatever surface the PC happens to be using.
I-O Data is a purveyor of this type of storage product, one series, HDCA-UT, having just received a new member.
Said member has a capacity of 3 TB, which is more than most drives of its kind, internal or otherwise, can provide.
It comes as an addition to the 1 TB and 2 TB models already out and about and measures 39 (W) x 185 (D) x 120 (H) mm.
Like its peers, it is built in such a way as to allow one to place it either horizontally or vertically.
Finally, the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface, which is ten times faster than USB 2.0 (about 5 Gbps instead of 480 Mbps) is supported, meaning that users won't have to wait ages for large files to be copied.
The new HDD is not yet available but should begin shipping sometime during the middle of next month, May 2011. The price will be of roughly $323.