Seagate has launched a new 500GB external hard disk drive (HDD) called BlackArmor PS110. This drive has support for USB 3.0, which means the data can be transferred at 100MB per second compared to 30MB of current USB 2.0 standards. This product was introduced at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas this year. I am prompted to buy one for sure.
My good old 120GB Maxtor drive has gone out of free memory to add any new files, it is high time to get a new one with bigger storage capacity. That is the motivation to explore about various external HDDs. BlackArmor seem to be a good option but paying as high as $180 for this 500GB drive on USB 3.0 makes absolutely no sense since the same capacity drive on USB 2.0 costs around $80.
Not just that Intel will not be supporting USB 3.0 device connectors until 2011. So, I don’t think we really need to hurry up for these 3.0 specification drives. By the time USB 3.0 becomes a predominant connectivity standard in use, the prices would come down for sure!
If you are a tech enthusiast and looking for more details on this drive, here it is for you.
* Option to protect files with AES 256-bit encryption
* A feature to restore the data similar to that of Windows ‘System Restore’
* Reverse compatibility with USB 2.0
What is your current back up drive size? Is 500GB good enough for you given that we are already in HD era? If you are thinking of buying one like me, make a conscious decision. Paying double the money for same capacity drive just because it supports USB 3.0 might not be a good idea at this point of time. All the computers and other electronic gadgets are currently as per USB 2.0 specs, this HDD with USB 3.0 might have compromised performance under compatibility mode. After all, I don’t use these drives very often to transfer data.
rocksea says
Packard bell hard disks are moderately priced here in Italy. I have two 1TB harddisks bought for around 110-120$.
Mohan says
Yeah, but those disks come with power cords which I am not in favor of!
Reshma says
I have a 250GB external drive which is almost full… Even I am looking to buy a new one with bigger capacity 🙂
Mohan says
Looks like 500GB drive is calling on you too!
Zeenat{Positive Provocations} says
HI Mohan,
Love your blog 🙂
I am a tech freak…and your site will feed my freakish hunger for all things tech …:)
I dont have a storage device…but i love pen drives….easier for me to carry around 🙂
Am gonna dig into your other posts soon.
Much Love,
Z~
Mohan says
Thank you! Looking forward to see you here more frequently 🙂
yogesh says
I have one 500GB transcent Hard disk but not sure it uses USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 to transfer data.
I heard seagate has already launched one tera byte hard disk in market.(1024 GB hard disk).
Mohan says
It should be USB 2.0 Yogesh, drives with USB 3.0 has been released only by seagate that too very recently. Those drives with more than 500GB usually come with power cords.. which is not really portable. Be choosy to opt for those which don’t need power cords.
lostworld says
I don’t have one.. Can you suggest one for me? I won’t be using it often..probably it would just be a back-up. Not too expensive either (I mean a meagre budget of around 5k)??
Don’t know too much about other details you’ve written but you brought up a useful topic(at least for me:) )thanks!
Mohan says
You can buy either Transcend or Seagate drive of 500GB for about Rs 4000/-. You can buy it from computerwarehousepricelist.com who sell these with warranty 🙂