Updated 26 May, 2012, 4:18 pm IST

REVIEWS / EXTERNAL DRIVES / WESTERN DIGITAL

WD 320GB My Passport Studio - Portable Hard Drive

09 Dec, 2008, 5:32 pm IST | by Shayne Rana | External drives

Data portability is no longer something that is meant just for those who want to secure their important data while toting it around for meetings. These days it’s all about average users storing movies, music and media in all forms. A portable hard drive is a mode of convenience for transfer and secure storage of large amounts of data. ‘Secure’ is of course the key word in that statement. One more important factor one needs to acknowledge before running off and buying the first high capacity external hard drive is transfer speed and the drive's versatility to offer its users various options of connectivity.

Here’s our review of Western Digital’s 320GB My Passport Studio Portable Hard Drive .

Form Factor
Weighing in at about 180g with dimensions of 18 x 126.76 x 81mm (H x L x W), WD’s 320GB external hard drive’s design is not unlike any other. What does make it stand out are the FireWire and standard mini USB connectivity ports that are very neatly concealed by a slider on one side of the drive. The glossy black rim and silver shell are also quite eye-catching. Cables (Firewire and USB) are provided for PC connections so you’re good to go as soon as it’s out of the box.

A set of white LED capacity indicators are located right next to the ports and are quite handy to give you a quick view as to how much of the drive’s space is utilized. Think of it as something similar to a mobile phone’s battery meter. Although the company states that the device’s shell is shock-resistant, I wouldn’t be throwing it around if I were you. It’s designed to keep the drive safe from regular bumping and jarring while carrying it around and I haven’t had any issues after carrying it around in Mumbai trains.

Features
The drive is formatted for the Mac (HFS) but can very easily be reformatted for Windows (NTFS) with no issues. It can also be used with Apple’s Time Machine software for data backup or any other software of the same nature. The Passport Studio comes with Western Digital's 5 year limited warranty. What enhances its worth is the fact that this is the newer version that offers Firewire 400 and 800 that boosts read/write speeds a little more.

Tags: Hard Drives , Western Digital

Would you buy it?

This workshop will show you how you can install a third-party open source firmware on your WDTV Live HD media player and tap hidden features that the original firmware doesn’t provide.

OCZ launches Vertex 4 SSD series in India

Hard drive prices may drop soon

WD launches new wireless streaming media player

Table salt to get more data onto your hard disks

Sharp dip in rupee-dollar exchange value to swell PC prices

WD launches MyBook Live, WD2go apps for major platforms

MORE VIDEOS

05 Apr, 2012, 05:10 pm IST

When Solid State Hard Drives Fail

16 Jun, 2008, 06:30 pm IST

Computer Basics Terminology_ What is a H ...

17 Dec, 2011, 08:22 pm IST

Rare Earth Magnets & Computer Hard Drives

24 May, 2012, 06:26 pm IST

The 15 Best External Hard Drives 1TB UK

How We Test

What do the ratings mean?

Ratings are simple - higher the score, the better the product. A brief listing of the features and what they mean are given below.

1 - 3

The product is bad in almost every aspect. We strongly advise against purchasing this product.

4 - 6

An average product that isn't the best you can buy, but isn't the worst either.

7 - 8

Product with this rating is highly recommended because it's priced sensibly, has a good set of features and performs well.

9 - 10

Exceptionally excellent product with features and performance unlike any we've seen in the past. A must-have for everyone!

What is the Average User Rating?

We at Tech2 take product reviewing very seriously and every product is tested with the utmost care and level of objectivity. The end user who buys a particular product and uses it over an extended period of time has his own take on a product and there might be nuances that he or she can shed light on. The Average User Rating is present to help readers get the complete picture of how good or bad a product is. The Average User Rating is calculated by averaging the ratings by the thousands of readers visiting Tech2.com every single day. To record your own rating of a product, simply click on the user rating bar. If you disagree with our ratings or our community's product rating, please don't hesitate from voicing your opinion in the comments section below the review.

Leaked Images, Availability, Pricing,
Specs, Pre-order