14 DAY TRIAL // The SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface standard has once again struck, this time scoring a plus with Samsung, which has just finished making the official introduction of the S2 Portable 3.0, a line of fast, portable hard disk drives that are expected to start selling in the European Union sometime this month.
Like all portable storage devices, the S2 come in multiple color options, but it is their performance and silent operation that truly give them their appeal and make them stand out.
End-users may already know that the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 connection allows a storage solution to communicate with a host PC at speeds of up to 5 Gbps.
With the performance side thus taken care of, Samsung implemented the NoiseGuard, Dynamic Balancing and SilentSeek technologies, for low noise, if any, during seeking, reading or writing.
What's more, the company threw in the SecretZone and SafetyKey software, as well as Auto Backup, which confer encryption, password protection and data backup capabilities upon the drives.
"As digital content continues to evolve from standard definition to HD and now 3D content, we expect the demand for high performance external HDDs to increase, especially among IT enthusiasts," said Ho-Seong Lee, vice president, storage marketing, Semiconductor Business, Samsung Electronics.
"The S2 Portable 3.0 delivers the benefits of top performance and quality, and as a result, lowers the power usage of the external hard drive also."
The Samsung S2 Portable 3.0 HDDs have a platter speed of 7,200 RPM (rotations per minute) and utilize, obviously, the compact 2.5-inch form factor.
Finally, at least as far as performance goes, the products are backward-compatible with USB 2.0 ports, though the data rates will be limited to 480 Mbps.
The multi-colored newcomers will have capacities of 320 GB and 640 GB and will start selling in Europe by the end of the month. Unfortunately, prices have not been mentioned.