Western Digital this morning grabbed an edge against rival Seagate by acquiring flash storage maker SiliconSystems for $65 million. The deal takes effect almost immediately and will set the new division towards producing solid-state drives (SSDs) for its parent. No immediate product plans have been announced, but SiliconSystems currently makes SSDs for notebook-friendly 2.5-inch sizes and smaller, including 1.8-inch and memory card-sized drives.

The buyout is likely to spur the development of SSDs in the mainstream by both shipping them through a better-recognized company than most rivals as well as by reducing the cost of producing SSDs through sheer scale. To date, companies like Samsung, SanDisk and Toshiba have been the largest producers of these flash drives and usually sell directly to PC makers while leaving upgrade kits to a small portion of the market.

Seagate and other companies normally focused heavily on rotating hard drives have often been resistant to adopting SSDs, nearing the point where Seagate had considered lawsuits to slow down its competition. The company has since relented and should have SSDs this year.

Earlier this week, Freecom released its new 2.5-inch ToughDrive Sport external hard drive that is claimed to be capable of withstanding adverse conditions. Available in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities, the drive can withstand a drop onto a flat surface from up to 6.6 feet and can soak up to 300G of force when in operation or 1,000G when turned off. Data is also protected against more human threats through 256-bit encryption. An integrated USB 2.0 cable that loops around the drive provides the computer connections, allowing it to transfer data at speeds up to 480Mbps. A Turbo USB driver lets Windows users transfer data at even higher, though unspecified, speeds. Back-up software that allows users to schedule regular file duplication is included with each ToughDrive Sport, which can also be used for porting installations on multiple PCs. Read the rest of this entry »

“The Imation Apollo 2.5″” Portable Hard Drive offers high-capacity mobile storage for data, photos, presentations, videos and music in a pocket-sized device that is lightweight, stylish and extremely durable. The Apollo drive is fully USB 2.0 powered and does not require an additional power supply. A blue indicator visually shows when data transfer is in process. The Apollo Hard Drive comes with easy-to-use Total Media Backup software that is compatible with both PC and Mac.”

Features

• Product Description: Imation Apollo Portable Hard Drive hard drive, 320 GB, Hi-Speed USB
• Type: Hard drive, external
• Form Factor: 2.5″
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 3.2 in x 0.7 in x 5 in
• Weight: 5.6 oz
• Capacity: 320 GB
• Interface Type: Hi-Speed USB
• Data Transfer Rate: 480 Mbps
• Spindle Speed: 5400 rpm
• Buffer Size: 8 MB
• OS Required: Apple MacOS X 10.2.8 or later, Microsoft Windows Vista / 2000 / XP
• Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years warranty

The Imation Apollo™ 2.5″ Portable Hard Drive offers high-capacity mobile storage for data, photos, music, and videos. It’s a pocket-sized device that is lightweight and stylish, yet extremely durable.

The Apollo Portable Hard Drive is fully USB 2.0 powered, and no additional power supply is required. A blue data transfer indicator lights when data transfer is in process.

The Apollo Portable Hard Drive comes with easy-to-use Total Media Backup™ software compatible with both PC and Mac.

Features & Benefits

Ultra Slim Design – Designed to fit in the palm of your hand or slip into your pocket, the Apollo Portable Hard Drive offers a unique combination of sleek styling and compact size.

Backup Software – The Apollo Portable Hard Drive comes with easy-to-install, easy-to-use Total Media backupTM software that is preconfigured to backup data, photos, music, or videos. Designed for use with PC or Mac, you can select backup, schedule, synchronize, and restore functions with a quick click of the mouse.

USB 2.0 Powered – The drive is fully USB 2.0 powered. No external power supply is required.

The Imation Apollo drive is a discrete and simple portable hard drive. The rectangular shaped drive has a solid feel with a clean black exterior, finished with a chrome trim around the sides and is available in a range of capacities starting at 160GB up to a colossal 500GB.

It’s difficult to believe that just a few months ago, 500GB drives were available only in desktop models, but now they fit in your pocket.

Using USB, the Apollo is a plug and play device, and as with most external drives of today, requires no need for drivers or external power source. Computers of old may find that they require the extra USB splitter to provide the drive with enough juice to get running. However, the XP-era PC that I’ve owned for the past five years seems to do just fine without it. Once plugged in and ready for use, a blue LED indicator lights up to show that the drive is powered and active.

Performance-wise, a 700MB file took 32.4 seconds to transfer from my MacBook Pro hard drive. My secondary performance test was the transfer of 1000 JPEG files totalling 2GB. The Apollo completed this on an empty drive in 1 minute 54 seconds. These scores are similar to those of the drives I’ve tested in the past. The limiting factor is perhaps the fact that these drives typically pack the same spec hard drive units limited up to 5400RPM and transfer over USB as opposed to FireWire 400/800 or eSata. That should soon change with the upcoming USB 3.0 spec to arrive next year.

Bundled with the drive is ArcSoft TotalMedia Backup that surprisingly works on both Windows and Mac operating systems. I didn’t get around to using this as the Time Machine backup feature of the latest iteration of Mac OS X already does an excellent job of backing up. However, for those that are interested, this capable backup solution allows you to be selective of what files are backed up including the ability to limit what file formats are copied across. So you could set it to backup just your music or image files. The usual backup functionality is included with scheduling and manual backup options.

Strangely, on my hunt for the best prices for this drive, I discovered that the 250GB Apollo was priced around the same as the 160GB model. For about £60 you can get the 250GB model. Whilst Imation are established in the storage market, there are other big name brands out there with similar or cheaper priced drives.

PD3200 320GB Pocket Media Drive
For anybody wondering, this is a 320GB HP Pocket Media Drive. As of the date of this review, the Amazon description says it’s a “Personal Media Drive”, which is a different type of HP drive. Combined with the lack of a product picture, it had me wondering what would show up. But the product ID (PD3200) is in the Pocket Drive family.

As of now, it’s only a slight improvement in cost per GB over the previous iterations, but for people who need the capacity and have the correct drive bay, this offers a lot of storage. 298GB on mine.

Store 59,000 photos, 74,000 songs, or 205 hours of video on our external, portable 320GB Pocket Media Drive. Use this high-speed, wallet-size drive alone or connected to your PC via the included USB cable, or save space by sliding it in the chassis slot of select HP Pavilion PCs.

Features

• Store and transport large amounts of data: 59,000 photos, 74,000 songs, or 205 hours of video.
• Use on flights, at school, or wherever: it needs no external power source
• Plug in for instant storage without adding a hard drive to your PC; add storage or share files without rebooting
• Share photos and projects with family, friends, and colleagues
• Use on multiple PCs as needed
• Password protect your files with the included Roxio Back Up My PC7 software
• Compatibility: USB-enabled PCs, HP Pavilion PCs with HP Pocket Media Drive bay; backward-compatible with PCs that have USB 1.1

Hard Drives & Optical Drives»Hard Drives & Optical Drives» Mobile Drive»Mobile DriveStore 115,000 photos, 57,000 songs, or 160 hours of video on HP’s external, portable 250GB Pocket Media Drive. Use this high-speed, wallet-size drive alone or connected to your PC via the included USB cable, or save space by sliding it in the chassis slot of select HP Pavilion PCs.This drive comes with USB cable and carrying case.

PD1600 – HP 160GB Pocket Media Drive (GM415AA#ABA)Store 74,000 photos, 37000 songs, or 100 hours of video1 on our external, portable HP 160GB Pocket Media Drive.

Use this high-speed, wallet-size drive alone or connected to your PC via the included USB cable, or save space by sliding it in the chassis slot of select HP Pavilion PCs.

Includes USB cable and carrying case.

• Carry loads of data: 74,000 photos or 37,000 songs or 100 hours of video1
• Use on flights, at school, or wherever: it needs no external power source
• Plug in for instant storage expansion without adding a hard drive to your PC; add storage or share files without rebooting
• Share photos and projects with family, friends, and colleagues
• Use on multiple PCs as needed
• Password protect your files with the included Roxio Back Up My PC7 software
• Compatibility: any USB-enabled PC or notebook; HP Pavilion PCs with HP Pocket Media Drive bay; backward compatible with PCs that have USB 1.1
• Warranty: One-year limited on hardware; 90 days on software

Photo capacity based on average compressed .jpg size of 2MB/image @4 MP. Music capacity based on 4 minutes per song, 128 Kbps AAC encoding. Video capacity based on standard NTSC recording format on “fair” mode; recording times may vary.

Product Specifications:

• Manufacturer: HP
• Part# GM415AA#ABA
• Model: PD1600
• What’s in the box?
  • Pocket media drive
  • 6′ USB cable
  • Software CD
  • Quick start guide
  • Black carrying case
  • Warranty guide