Cheap Portable
Hard Drives |
When it comes to portable
hard drives, you can safely say that all products are created
equally. However, not all are priced equally. In this article we
will go about checking out some examples of lower priced hard
drives.
Like any market, the bigger
the brand, the more expensive it will be. We will be searching for
cheap portable hard drives that have the same built in quality
features as the big brands, with a very affordable price tag. In my
eyes, a $100 device is not a cheap device. I would say a $30 -
$50 drive that has the same features build into the expensive $100+
drive is an ideal search criteria.
Before we get into the
types of brands, and businesses that provide these cheap devices, we
need to first understand the differences between them. What makes
them so cheap? And are they just as good as the expensive ones?
These devices are prices low because their brands are fairly
new, not as well known as the more established brands, such as
Western Digital, Seagate, Sony, etc... And in most cases you will
not find a 250GB drive for $50. They will all be 80GB. This in my
opinion is still more than enough space to last you a life time.
People are naturally more attracted to products that offer "more of
something". If you can have the option of getting a 500GB for $110,
or 80GB for $50. Which would you choose? Many people will pay the
extra $60, and get the 500GB, even though they will only use about
30GB of it.
By comparison of the
features included in the expensive and cheap portable hard drives,
you will find they are relatively the same, including their weight,
interface, form factor, and size.
The main differences you
will find in the two includes the storage capacity and the hard
drives RPM.
Note: Storage capacity is
the amount of information you will be able to input into the device.
Most $30-$50 devices are at 80GB, while the $100 devices can range
from 250GB and up. RPM is known as the Revolution Per Minute (speed
at which the spindle which holds the disk platters revolves). There
isn't a big difference in RPM and will certainly not affect the
performance of the drive at a large scale. You wouldn't even be able
to notice the difference.
What are the brands that you can buy these cheap
portable hard drives from?
After searching through the
net, I have found two brands/businesses that are fairly reputable
with products priced around the range we are looking for. The brands
are Cirago, and EAGLE TECH. You can find them everywhere online. I
don't know about your local stores. You would have to check up on
that yourself. I have personally purchased an eagle tech portable
drive for my cousin a year back, and has not had a single problem
yet.
These providers have hard drives priced at $30-$50. These
are brand new products. Nothing refurbished, or used. You can use
their products, with the assurance that they are just as stable as
the other major providers.
If you go a bit over the
$50 mark. ($50-$75) you will find even more providers. Including
Western Digital, Cavalry, ioMega, Memorex, Toshiba
and I'm sure much more. The reason I mention this is because, there
are three very reputable brands in the list above, in bold font.
These providers are the big boys in the industry, trusted without a
doubt, everywhere in the US.
The definition of what
cheap portable hard drives are to you may be different then what was
described above. However do keep in mind that you will not be able
to find a new portable hard drive below $30.
I do hope, by reading the
above article you would have gained a basic understanding of which
brands have cheap portable hard drives, and the difference
between them and the expensive ones. I can't tell you what to buy,
but I can push you in the right direction. I would suggest checking
out some of our sponsors, or getting on Google and typing in the
name of the brand + portable hard drive. You will find what you are
looking for without a doubt!
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