Sony 1 TB external portable hard disk HD-E1 with pouch Free (Silver)

The 1TB External Hard Drive is preloaded with softwares that enhance faster transfer speeds, provide greater data security and automatic backup for all your important files. Back up, store and transport your important files, digital images, MP3s and videos with the Sony HDE1/BC2 external hard disk drive. In addition to 1TB of storage capacity, this drive comes equipped with preloaded software that delivers up to 3x faster data transfer, password protection and easy data backup—all wrapped up in a sophisticated, contemporary design. We’ve seen a few USB 3.0 gadgets, but the 1TB Sony HD-E1 is the first truly pocket-sized USB 3.0 external hard drive we’ve tested. Perfect for laptop users, it will suit those buying a new Ultrabook or who already own a recent USB 3.0-enabled model.

In design, it’s compact and covered in brushed aluminium, only a little larger than the average smartphone and a similar shape. Ours was black, but there’s a selection of colours available. Apart from the USB 3.0 connector, the only feature is a blue light to indicate drive activity. The 56cm cable is used to both power the drive and for data transfer. We’d like a little more information – such as an indicator of available space – but it’s attractive and very portable.

We tested the drive with HD Tach, as well as by performing standard data transfers, with a current model USB 3.0-enabled laptop. With HD Tach, the drive recorded random access times of around 16.8ms, which is mid-range speed overall, but fast for a 2.5-inch drive. The average read speed was 86MBytes/sec, with maximum burst speed while reading from the drive of 238MByte/sec, both of which rate well for this size drive but don’t match 3.5-inch external drive speeds.

When transferring movie files, we achieved read speeds over 100MByte/sec. Even for 3000 small files totalling 100MB, which is a challenging task for any drive, we managed a decent 20MByte/sec read speed.
Write speed was slower, averaging 5MByte/sec for small files and 16MByte/sec for large media files, but these are mostly acceptable.

In terms of overall performance this is a great little pocket drive, and its slimline design is appealing. It comes with backup software, and encryption, and it’ll make a great accessory for a new laptop.