Verbatim Store 'n' Go USB Hard Drive

Mobile storage has taken off over the past few years. Thank goodness floppy disks are a thing of the past. Verbatim has been a leader in all things storage from CD's and DVD's to flash drives and now portable hard drives.

I tested the diminutive hard drive (the 4 gigabyte version) this week and came away impressed. The drive weighs in at less than two ounces and measure 2.75 X 2.125 X .5 inches. The Store 'n' go comes with a built-in USB 2.0 connection and a USB extension cable as well. No installation software is necessary for Windows Me, 2000 or XP machines. Windows 98 SE users can download a driver from Verbatim's web site.

Installation in an XP machine consists of nothing more than plugging in the drive to an open USB port. XP immediately recognized the drive and assigned it a drive letter. Verbatim ships the drive with a U3 type software (Ceedo) that helps manage the drive and install applications that run form the drive. Ceedo installs a small task bar of its own that lets you browse the drives contents and start programs from the drive.

Unlike USB flash drives, you must 'eject' this hard drive via the Ceedo software or Windows "Safely Remove Hardware" utility. Because this device is actually a little hard drive (with movable parts), the ejection routine stops the hard drive safely.

In my crude transfer rate tests, I found that the drive could suck up data at the rate of 3-4 megabytes per second. Running applications from the drive is seamless, but definitely a little slower than running from the computer's hard drive. Many software programs are available from the "add programs" option in the Ceedo menu and they install quickly and easily with a broadband connection.

Verbatim states that the drive is built with a 'polymer enclosure to provide shock resistance'.  I purposely dropped the drive from distance of about 4 feet and the drive suffered no problems. I didn't want to run a second test.

In addition to the drive and USB extension cable, Verbatim also provides a white Velcro carrying case. It is quite dainty looking and the drive itself looks enough like a lady's compact that adding the case just puts it over the edge.

Overall, the Verbatim drive operates well, is easy to install and offers some nice features like the ability to add programs that run from the device. My only concern is that it is a hard drive. I like flash drives better for their durability, but their cost is almost twice as much as the portable hard drive. For computer users looking for fast, spacious, portable storage, the Verbatim Store 'n' Go Hard Drives are definitely worth considering.