14 DAY TRIAL // For all the benefits that technological advancements bring, they often have less than favorable side-effects when it comes to already existing devices. On the storage front, the emergence of a new interface always leaves previous-generation devices with nothing to do after consumers upgrade their platforms. This is exactly why hardware makers came up with and kept developing the concept of HDD/SSD enclosure.
Storage-unit enclosures are meant to let end-users actually utilize their spare HDDs for something. As such, they are designed to house the hard disk or flash device and bridge the gap between its interface and one that can connect to a host PC, such as a USB or eSATA connector, among other things. Sharkoon's latest QuickStore does exactly this, only with the added bonus of mobility and a significantly higher speed than that allowed by previous-generation enclosures.
The Sharkoon QuickStore Portable USB 3.0, as its name implies, allows a hard disk drive or a solid state drive to communicate via the USB 3.0 interface. Measuring 135 (L) x 85 (W) x 14 (H) mm and weighing only 51 grams, the device can house storage solutions using the 2.5-inch form factor and designed with the SATA interface. There is also backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 and 1.1 ports. Of course, in such cases, maximum transfer rates will be much lower than the 5Gbps theoretical maximum of the SuperSpeed standard.
Of course, since enclosures need to look stylish in any environment, Sharkoon built its newest one with an aluminum cover painted back. There is also a version with a brushed aluminum finish. Furthermore, for user convenience, the assembly is done without the need for any special tools. Finally, the QuickStore Portable USB3.0 can perform one-click backup for Windows PCs.
Sharkoon retailers are already shipping the external HDD/SSD enclosure, with a price of 28.90 Euro.