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Product Review: Page (1) of 1 - 08/09/05

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Targus 40GB Ultra Slim Pocket Hard Drive

USB portable hard drive packs 40GB disk space

By John Virata

Targus is well known in the mobile computing industry for its line of notebook computer bags. The company was one of the first to specifically target the market, and has done well in it.

Not willing to rest on its success, the company recently introduced a line of peripherals for notebook computers designed to make traveling with a notebook computer more convenient. And as the market for notebook computers continues to grow, the need for peripherals will grow as well.

Because of their small form factors, most notebooks ship with hard drives that are of limited capacity when compared to their desktop counterparts. If you are working with data heavy files such as digital images and digital video, and have the corresponding editing applications installed, that precious hard disk space can quickly disappear.

One video editing application that I installed was bloated with more than 8GB of data. Most notebooks ship with 40GB to 80GB hard drives, and to enhance those capacities, Targus has introduced a portable, USB-based hard disk drive that can conveniently be stored in your notebook computer bag.

The Targus Ultra Slim Pocket hard drive attached to a Fujitsu Lifebook.

Small enough to fit in your shirt pocket, the Targus ADH01US 40GB Ultra Slim Pocket Hard Drive is exactly that, an ultra slim hard disk drive. Measuring just 3.4 x 3 x 0.6-inches and weighing a scant 3.2oz with data, the Ultra Slim Pocket Hard Drive could be just the ticket for those who enjoy bringing their data with them. Or, if you are a digital photographer, adding more data as you travel. The USB 2.0 drive spins at 4200 rpm, which is a bit on the slow side, but if you have gigs of data that needs to be backed up, you can back up the entire contents of the drive with the included Retrospect backup software.

The Specs
The 40GB Ultra Slim Pocket Hard Drive plugs into a free USB 2.0 port (it is also backward compatible to USB 1.1) and derives its power directly from the port. No AC adapter is required, nor does it require any drivers when plugged into a Windows ME/2000/XP based computer. It can transfer at up to the 480Mbps data rate as specified by USB 2.0, and can be configured to work as a data drive for regular data transfer, a backup drive via the included backup software, or as a bootable drive. The USB connection conveniently slides out of the unit, but remains connected via a small cable. The connection can be then tucked away when not in use, enabling you to place the drive back into the Targus case that ships with it. Four small rubber feet are located on the bottom of the unit to keep some clearance from the surface in which it sits, and a blue LED light is located on the front and top of the unit to let you know when the drive is connected, and when data is being transferred.

First Impressions
The 40GB Ultra Slim Pocket Hard Drive, at $249 is not inexpensive for the capacity that you get, but, it is very inexpensive considering the cost of Flash-based USB drives. The drive is very portable, it is unobtrusive, and is bus powered, so you don't have to worry about AC adapters. For a quick backup device, or an extra data drive when you find your notebook hard drive lacking free disk space, the Targus 40GB Ultra Slim Pocket Hard Drive will add 40GB of more space to your notebook computer with no set up hassles or cables to worry about. For more information, visit www.targus.com