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REVIEW - Pocket View Hard Drive from iStoragePro

When it comes to hard drives, as we all know, bigger, bulkier drives are not better.  Smaller size and larger capacity is what we want, but we’ve had a problem for a while now, and that is that companies are releasing these drives with large capacities (2TB and higher), but the problem with them is that they are not RAID capable (meaning they have no backup, so if a drive dies, you’re screwed).  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there are no RAID desktop hard drives out there because there are.  What I’m talking about is a super small RAID capable drive with all the connections we could need for editing (and everything else we could need it for).  Well, CI Design is looking to muscle its way into the hard drive market with another new product, the iStoragePro Pocket View hard drive.  Let’s see if it’s worth your hard earned money!

THE SPECS

Here’s what CI Design is offering up with this hard drive.

• Capacity up to 1TB

• Multi-interface: USB, FireWire and eSATA

• RAID 0 or 1 data protected drive

• LCD View for precision monitoring

• Supports 2.5” SATA II drives @ 5400 rpm, 7200 rpm or SSD (Nice!)

• Heat sink and cooling fan to ensure data integrity and reliability

• Bus Powered by FireWire or USB 2.0 or power via Universal AC power adapter

• Unique Design: Aluminum finished enclosure

• MAC OS X, Windows Vista/XP (Windows XP limited to 2 TB)

• 3 Year Limited Warranty

For me, the big highlights of the drive are obviously the RAID 0 or 1 protected drive support, the support for 5400, 7200 rpm and SSD’s, the bus powered by FW/USB and the cooling fan, although, we all know how noisy they can get, but we’ll get to that in just a second.  The model that I’m looking at is the 640GB model, so if I’m running in RAID 0, I’ll get the whole 640GB (596GB after format), or in RAID 1 I’ll get half that.  I have to say that I really like the cooling fan in this unit.  Not only is it quiet (quiet enough that when I record my tutorials with my microphone, it doesn’t pick it up), but it keeps those drives cool.  I figured what better way to put this drive through its paces than to get it out of the box, and start editing Pro Res with it, and to basically do a weeks worth of rendering on it, literally 24 hours a day for five days, and I had it sitting on top of my Lacie Blu-Ray burner, and when I picked it up to feel the BRB, the top of it was actually cool.  You don’t get much better than that.  All in all, I really like this drive for what it has to offer, and if you’re not familiar with iStoragePro, you should be, as they make quality products.

VALUE FOR YOUR DOLLAR

At an MSRP of $450, the Pocket View might seem a little expensive, but for the connections you get (eSata), the inclusion of a fan, the fact that it can take SSD’s, and its RAID capable, it’s a product you shouldn’t overlook.  The unit itself worked with not one single problem, and it’s a great little hard drive that you will always be able to count on.  iStoragePro drives are a quality product, and you won’t be disappointed spending money on one of their drives.

PROS

USB, FireWire and eSATA connections

RAID protected

Support for Solid State Drives

Quiet fan

Power the unit by FW or USB connection

CONS

There’s no Off/On switch (which can get frustrating with a Bus powered drive)

People might be scared off by the price

In the end, the Pocket View drive from iStoragePro is a small, quiet, RAID capable drive that I would recommend to anyone looking to pick up a new drive.  Keep an eye on CI Design’s iStoragePro line of drives.  They have some really great products that should not be overlooked, and the Pocket View is definitely one of them.  You can check out the Pocket View, and their entire product line by heading over to http://www.istoragepro.com.  As always, you can send me an .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow me on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/kpmcauliffe .

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How’s it compare to the G-Tech RAID mini 2?

Posted by MichaelSanders  on  05/18  at  03:58 AM

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Michael,

The G-RAID mini has a similar size and shape, and also offers RAID0 (for performance) or (as a new option) RAID1 (for reduncancy. However, the iStoragePro offers removable drives, while the G-RAID mini is a “sealed” enclosure. Beyond possible waring issues, it would be much more cumbersome to change a/the drive(s) when necessary.

Posted by Allan Tépper  on  05/18  at  07:43 AM

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I’m using seagate External HDD for my personal use , its very cheap compare to other drives.
1TB with firewire price is around $120 only..
virtual private server

Posted by turbovps  on  08/02  at  01:08 AM

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