If you’re taking a lot of pictures and videos, or carrying movies to watch on the road, a portable hard drive is a must-have in the travel bag. And the latest generation of portable drives offers expanded storage at prices that are more affordable than ever.
I recently purchased a Western Digital My Passport Essential portable hard drive to back up large, high-definition video files. The 500 GB model includes a fast USB 2.0 interface, probably the simplest and most-universal connection.
The My Passport drive could not be easier to use. Hooking it up to a PC for the first time, it only takes a few seconds to automatically install. The drive is powered through the USB cable, so no external power is needed. It includes sync and encryption software.
The only real criticism I’ve seen from some users is that the supplied cable is too short. Mine came with an 18″ cable, which actually works fine for my setup. Or, you could easily purchase a longer cable.
The list price of the 500 GB drive is $149.99, but it goes for far less online: right now it’s $97 to $107 at Amazon depending on color and whether it’s called “essential” or “elite.”
There are not a lot of options for portable hard drives, besides included software and different colors for the cases. Just about all come with USB 2.0 interfaces, and for a few dollars more, some models will connect via Firewire.
But the reputation of the manufacturer and warranty are big considerations. Western Digital is one of the most-reliable manufacturers of hard drives and a three-year warranty is standard on the Essential series.
Some WD owners may not be aware of the company’s customer loyalty program. If you have an older WD drive, whether the warranty is still good or expired, you may qualify for discounts on a new drive purchased directly from Western Digital.
I’ve been carrying a smaller-capacity version of the WD Passport for years and never had a problem. And it lives in a bag that gets jostled around a lot at airports and on planes.
That’s not to say a hard drive will never fail. That’s why we keep backups, right? But I’ve rarely run into problems with Western Digital drives, either the portable models or those I use in desktops and workstations.
The 500 GB portable drive will hold an average of 100,000 digital photos, 60 hours of HD video of 125,000 MP3 songs. The drive is available in several other sizes, up to 1 TB. There’s also a version specifically for the Mac (see link at the bottom of this review).
That’s a lot of storage in a small package—and a very affordable way to protect your essential files on the road.
Western Digital Passport 500GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive for Mac
Subscribe to Practical Travel Gear
