Seagate One Touch IV Mini External Hard Disk Drive

Seagate One Touch IV Mini External Hard Disk Drive Review

This is not a new product, being more than a year on the market, and Maxtor has since been swallowed up by its one-time rival Seagate.

So why is this product in today’s line-up? For no other reason than because we wanted to see how it faired against the newer breed of portable hard disks.

You should note that Seagate has pushed out an upgraded version of this product, called the One Touch IV Mini, which could not be delivered in time for this comparison.

Housed in silver plastic, it feels sturdier than it looks and is quite a solidly built device that will obviously soak up the odd bump or two, especially with its black-rubber sidepieces.On the front is a button with a white LED (light-emitting diode) that doubles as a status indicator and signals that you have activated the backup command. To backup your data, just press the button once.

There’s also a Y-shaped USB cable for data and power connections. Also, a separate power adaptor is available for purchase.

Installation

This was a breeze with the software that comes bundled with the portable hard disk. Everything you need is on the drive, so there is no CD with drivers or utilities, to tinker with. Just plug in the device and follow the setup wizard’s instructions.

The main selling point of this product is its two-level security feature. First, there is software encryption to safeguard its contents if the drive is ever lost or stolen.

Then, there is the proprietary DriveLock feature, which is an embedded firmware designed to deny access to the data even if the hard disk is dismantled or connected to another computer.

Maxtor’s device comes with the Maxtor Synch software, a data synchronisation application that allows users to share and update files between their home and office PCs easily.

It also has the System Rollback application which helps revert the computer to the last saved point in the event of a system crash or software error.

Speed test

In our write speed test, this device measured out at three minutes 49 seconds, with an average data transfer speed of 18.2Mbps (megabits per second). In the read test, it scored three minutes 19 seconds, with an average transfer speed of 24.5Mbps.

Other tests – HD Tune and CrystalDiskMark – reinforced the previous findings. We were pleasantly surprised to note that the Maxtor’s performance wasn’t far from that of the two newer portable hard disks.

The verdict

Despite being more than a year old, this portable hard disk does not lose ground to its newer rivals. It is as fast as the rest for daily backup chores, is a sturdy piece of kit, and has two levels of security.

Not bad at all, and we’re betting the improved version is even better. But we’ll have to wait for another time to confirm that.

Pros: Built sturdily but not heavy; read/writes as fast as the newer models; one-touch backup button; easy to use; useful software bundle

Cons: Casing is slightly big compared to rival products.

ONE TOUCH III MINI
(Maxtor)
2.5in external portable hard disk
Speed: 5,400rpm
Software bundle: DriveLock and System Rollback
Other features: One touch backup button
Dimensions (w x h x d): 132 x 88.9 x 20.3mm
Weight: 205g