Everyone needs to be able to back-up crucial files and while the cloud is watching and waiting, sustained mobile data transfer rates across the UK mean that a physical drive and connection are often a better choice in 2013. With data transfer rates up to 445MB/sec, ADATA has a new option for less than £100.
Windows 8.1 has had a stop-start opening weekend. While the web is full of stories about people moving back to Windows 7, the vast majority will plough forward now that the Start Button has been re-added to their lives.
Why the interest in Windows 8.1? Well, if Microsoft succeeds in implementing a solid ‘boot from external SSD' system into its operating system (Windows To Go), then it could pave the way for power users to have ‘their PC' on a slimline drive in their top pocket – ready to load and run anywhere in the world.
KitGuru saw a very basic version of this working at Sun's HQ more than 10 years ago, where an employee would plug a credit card into a terminal, log in and get ‘their desktop' presented to them. But to do this with advanced applications like Photoshop, Premiere etc and have gigabytes of essential data with you as well – at SSD speeds – now that would be useful.
So let's get into the meat-n-potatoes of ADATAs new SE720 external SSD.
Speaking with ADATA's marketing guru, AlexRuedinger, we were told “It weighs only 110 grams, is encased in stainless steel which has also been treated with a scratch-resistant material and delivered with a full 3 years warranty”.
Impressive. We like it when our data has this kind of protection. And it's still less than 9mm thick.
Alex says that this combination gives you a “Highly desirable shock-resistant, low power, noiseless device”, but he would, right?
We asked about performance and were told, “Write speeds for this external drive exceed 300MB a second while read speeds pass 445MB a second”.
Alex told us that it is “Linux and Mac OS X compatible while supporting every Microsoft OS from Windows XP through to 8.1 – including Windows-To-Go for Enterprise versions of the desktop OS”.
Looks like YOYOTech is taking pre-orders on this external device for £99.99
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KitGuru says: In any other market, we would say that looks, speed and price would be enough to win every time – but storage is an incredibly competitive market, so it won't be easy.
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