14 DAY TRIAL // I-O Data chose not to go portable this once, offering a new, high-capacity addition to a collection of desktop hard drives, otherwise known as USB-connected external units.
The I-O Data HDCA-U series of external hard disk drive units has been around for some time, but this only means that its list of members periodically increases in length.
Of course, with how convenient and, as a consequence, popular external storage has become, this is only natural.
The fact that external HDDs can have capacities just as high as their regular counterparts is their major asset.
While external solid state drives and other NAND-flash based devices haven't gained fame, what with data transfer rates limited over USB, especially 2.0, HDDs don't have this problem.
The new addition to I-O Data's series is a model with a capacity of 3 TB, which is more than what mainstream users have on their base HDD.
The space is supposed to be enough for backup tasks and/or store one’s multimedia collection (videos, music, photos, etc.).
The 5 Gbps transfer speed of the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface standard is, unfortunately, absent.
Still, considering the purpose of the unit, the USB 2.0 interface should be enough, even if the 480 Mbps top speed is a tenth of what USB 3.0 can do.
I-O Data will start shipping the HDD in black and white versions, starting at some point during the middle of the ongoing month (October, 2011).
The price is of 21,000 Yen (the HDD was launched in Japan), a sum which, according to current exchange rates, is about $273.
For those who want to get a better image of it in their minds, the HDCA-U3.0CK and HDCA-U3.0CW weigh 1.1 kilograms (38.80 ounces) and measure 39 (W) x 185 (D) x 120 (H) mm (1.49 x 7.28 x 4.72 inches).