Best Budget Portable drives for 2012

When it comes to storage, you would want something reliable. With so many options in the market when it comes to external hard drives, it could become a hard task to decide what to get – luckily enough, we have gathered a few budget portable hard drives that you can trust upon with your information.

Seagate Backup Plus

This vivid blue device really is a portable hard disk, at first glance it looks quite “cool” (*sigh* unprofessional) – the good thing about the Seagate is that it is “flexible”, you can use several different adapters from GoFlex drives which makes it quite a versatile disk. As per Seagate’s previous standards, it comes in two parts – the drive itself accompanied by the adapter part which determines the type of connection you will eventually use. It is a USB 3.0 Hard disk, which means that transfer rates will be brisk.

Technical Specifications

Capacity: 500GB, 750 GB, 1TB

Interface: USB 3.0, USB 3.0, eSata, Thunderbolt

Dimensions: 2.5 inch

HDD Type: External HDD

Price: $120, $130, $140 respectively to 500, 750 and 1TB

So over all the Device looks great, have good features and excellent add on-s. The drawback is that the space is capped at 1TB and the price could be a little lower than what Seagate is offering right now, but again – at least I have always trusted Seagate in terms of memory.

Seagate GoFlex Slim

Yes, another Seagate, this one though is from the GoFlex series – the GoFlex Slim really is ultra-thin and thus extremely portable, the matt finished drive weighs only 0.22 pounds, whereas the Seagate Backup plus weighs twice that. GoFlex Slim is extremely reliable and portability is not only limited to that of weight and size, the built in features will allow you to use your drive on both Windows and Mac OS without changing the format.

Technical Specifications

Capacity: 320GB, 500GB

Interface: USB 3.0, USB 2.0, eSATA

Dimensions: 2.5 inch

HDD Type: External HDD

Price: $79 and $85 for 320 and 500GB

The 320GB separates itself from the 500GB model in design, while the 320GB model is only 9 millimeter’s thick – the 500GB model goes to around 11 millimeters. Overall performance of the drive is modest if not great, for the price it offers and the portability options it is definitely worth a shot.

LaCie Starck

No, we are not basing our opinion just on aesthetics; these really are powerful and portable devices. The LaCie starck is a beautiful device itself, covered with aluminum and a polished chrome look it surely is a looker, the front panel of the device is touch sensitive – with which you can browse your folders quickly with a quick touch. Apart from the aesthetics of the device, it lacks most of the features you might find on later devices, like eSata or fire wire connectivity.

Technical Specifications

Capacity: 1TB

Interface: USB 2.0

Dimensions: –

HDD Type: External HDD

Price: $90 1TB model

To sum it up, the hard drive is pretty cheap considering the pedigree of Starck, and to the fact that its second cheapest 1TB external hard disk available at amazon, these factors give this device an edge – at the same time the speeds of 22mbps write and 32mbps read won’t blow your socks away. Even though the performance is not that great; the overall package impressed us enough to list it among the best budget external hard disks.

IOmega Ego Super speed

Next up we have iOmega Ego Super speed, the name is self-explanatory, they are going after portability and fast transfer rates, it is a rugged device and you won’t be worried about getting a bit rough (although not recommended)- the casing is accompanied by an extra shoulder padded rubber which will protect the device from regular crashes and falls. The transfer speeds are impressive as well, with an average of 94.7mbps read speeds and straggly 104mbps write speeds (strange because reading speeds are usually higher) the Super speed performs well under given circumstances.

Technical Specifications

Capacity: 1TB

Interface: USB 3.0, USB 2.0

Dimensions: 2.5 inch

HDD Type: External HDD

Price: $104 1TB model

To top off with the good transfer speeds and the extra comfort of ruggedness, the Super speed will give an added feature of AES 256bit encryption; this will guarantee safe transfers and storage of data.

Western Digital My passport

How can we list external hard drives and miss out on western digital, the plastic shell covered passport portable hard disk is essentially a go to device for average users, their product always have been reliable and assured good quality, and in terms of portable hard disk it’s no different. The drive comes with data security to ensure your data remains safe, along with that good transfer speeds assure you of breezy transfers, here are a few important features that highlights the WD portable hard disk.

Technical Specifications

Capacity: 1TB

Interface: USB 3.0, USB 2.0

Dimensions: 2.5 inch

HDD Type: External HDD

Price: $120 1TB model

Although your options are not limited – it’s good to know what people use and recommend for their daily use. The WD will be your best friend and Go-to device because they are more commonly used – but search right for your budget, and if it allows you to get a faster device then Seagate should definitely be considered.