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Housed in a scratch-resistant aluminium case, Freecom's FHD-2 Pro is the smallest device in our round-up. It stands out from the crowd thanks to a striking circular button at one end, used to quickly synchronise data between the drive and your desktop PC.
As with the other pocket drives, the Freecom can be powered via USB. A separate power supply can be used if the unit can't draw enough juice from your system. Our review unit came with a 20GB Toshiba drive, but 40GB and 80GB versions are also available.
Installation and configuration are straightforward, and the bundled software uses Microsoft's Briefcase technology to make synchronising data as easy as possible. Once you've finished working with your files you simply drag and drop them into the relevant folders and hit the button on the front of the drive to sync. You can also secure your data by encrypting files and compressing the folders.
The Freecom is supplied with Autorun, a utility that lets you set an application to start as soon as the drive is connected, and Acronis True Image, for creating drive backups in a similar way to the Norton Ghost or Drive Image. However, the latter is a cut-down edition that prevents you creating images across a network.
Unfortunately, while its spin speed and buffer size were on a par with other drives, the Freecom turned out to be the poorest performer in the group. That said, there's no denying that it's a functional and smart-looking product that comes complete with useful software.
Contact: Freecom 01423 704 700
www.freecom.com
Specifications:
- Capacity: 250Gb
- Spin speed (rpm): 7,200
- USB 2
- Size (mm) w x d x h: 204 x 118 x 35
- Weight (g): 872
- backup software
- additional software
- Warranty (years): 2
See also:
This external hard drive from Buffalo comes with USB 2 ports on both the back and front. 27 Sep 2004All Hard Drive
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