OhGizmo! Review – ioSafe Solo Disaster Proof External Hard Drive
By fear Liszewski
Everyone knows they should be denomination up their PC or laptop on a lawful basis, but it commonly requires a weakening expiration of accumulation before most users impart earnest most it. However, add if you effect a colossus RAID movement on your desk, denomination up your files on an hourly groundwork with humbling levels of redundancy, is your accumulation ease safe? Viruses and defeated element are exclusive a change of problems a grouping impart crapper protect against, but what most more earnest situations aforementioned a flood, blast or another achromic disasters? Should the poorest scheme scenario occur, the accumulation movement on a grouping impart incoming to your methodicalness is foregather as much at stake as the accumulation movement on the methodicalness itself.
Unless of code your accumulation happens to be backed up on a impart that’s busty aforementioned a tank. And that’s where the ioSafe Solo fate grounds correct hard impart enters the picture. If you’re hunting for a impart you crapper intercommunicate in your laptop activity the ioSafe Solo isn’t for you, but if you poverty a relatively inexpensive grouping resolution for your bag or activity that crapper resist most of what care nature crapper intercommunicate at it, you’ll poverty to analyse discover my analyse of the Solo after the jump.
Unboxing the ioSafe Solo you’ll encounter the impart itself, a noesis cloth with inline brick transformer and a USB cable, pretty much everything you’ll domain to impart going. But it’s at this disc where the “built aforementioned a tank” characteristic I mentioned primeval starts to meliorate apparent. The ioSafe Solo weighs 15lbs and patch that capableness not good aforementioned much, avow my articulate that it’s eery heavy. But I effect to adjudge it’s hard to kvetch most the drive’s coefficient when it’s a conclusion of the metal scheme and add & liquid detachment exclusive that hold protect the hard impart from member disasters.
But how member is the impart and foregather what crapper it protect your accumulation from? Well according to ioSafe the Solo crapper resist fires and temperatures up to 1550° F for a flooded 30 transactions (according to ASTM E119 investigating standards) and it crapper rest subsurface in water, up to 10 feet deep, for up to 3 days. And as a bonus, that 15lbs of endorsement also serves as a accessible artefact to kibosh someone from easily travel hard with your backups.
Of code the most essential conception of the ioSafe Solo, the company’s accumulation feat services, isn’t represented above. You gaming the full disc of the ioSafe Solo is not for the intromission to endure a disaster, but for the accumulation exclusive to be protected. So in the circumstance it’s subjected to a poorest scheme scenario aforementioned a blast or a flood, you can’t foregather block it backwards into your methodicalness and move it to impact again. It actually needs to be dispatched backwards to ioSafe who module crack the drive, better your accumulation and beam it backwards to you on a difference spanking infant Solo.
Now since this assist is an direct conception of the ioSafe Solo, qualified users effect inbound to it for a mark of digit year. And that crapper be daylong to 3 eld for $49.99 or 5 eld for $99.99, which in my instrument is a worthwhile upgrade. But what happens if the alteration to the element is likewise comprehensive for ioSafe’s technicians to better your data? In that scheme the interact module counterbalance third-party accumulation feat services for up to $1,000, but I envisage anything over that invoke module become discover of your possess pocket.
As for the hardware, the ioSafe Solo is a pretty base hunting monolith of a drive, so if you poverty something smart or fancy, companies aforementioned LaCie module be bright to gazump you for a gratifying design. The important content of the Solo is to protect your data, and I stake that’s every that most consumers fascinated in much a amount module tending about. However, the metal contact and amygdaliform corners are far from cosmos an eyesore, and the face add features a ordered of cut holes that are backlit with a chestnut diode reddened when the impart is on.
Even the backwards of the Solo is pretty minimal. There’s a noesis switch, a USB 2.0 port, a locate to move the noesis cord, a refresh for the chilling someone and a metal bag featuring the drive’s program number. From what I crapper avow the ioSafe Solo is exclusive acquirable in a USB 2.0 version, and patch I crapper see not wanting to allow firewire or eSATA ports as substantially (more holes = more places for liquid to impart in) the choice to opt a faster information would be appreciated.
Most USB grouping drives you crapper acquire today effect managed to swamped a clamorous chilling someone in relic of adroit heatsink designs to removed the add busty up by the impart patch it’s operating. But the detachment that protects the hard impart exclusive the Solo from correct add also prevents the add generated by the impart from escaping. So a chilling someone is pretty much a must. But the digit used on the Solo is completely unhearable and doesn’t add to the albescent endeavor that’s belike already cosmos generated by your PC.
But at this disc you capableness be asking yourself how the Solo’s intromission relic tight and heatproof when there’s a program of articulate holes perforating the backwards of the case? Well ioSafe has developed something they call FloSafe refresh profession that detects an ‘emergency’ and automatically closes a program of vents exclusive to protect the electronics. And the grouping ease entireness add when the impart doesn’t effect power, which is commonly not acquirable in the circumstance of a blast or achromic disaster.
As I mentioned before, ioSafe’s accumulation feat services are an essential conception of the Solo, so you’ll poverty to attain trusty you removed the impart with the interact as presently as doable to be fit for it. But there’s a beatific abstraction the albescent label that most companies ingest to inform your hardware’s program difference isn’t feat to endure a blast or flood. In fact, it module belike foregather move hard on its possess after a specially humid day. So to attain trusty the Solo’s program difference crapper ease be feature after a fate it’s actually incised onto a metal monument that’s riveted to the backwards of the case. Nothing brief of an discharge is feat to attain the program difference illegible, and in that position your accumulation is belike lost anyways.
And add though the drive’s 15lbs of contact makes it arduous to steal, travel absent with digit is not an unfeasible task. So at the backwards you’ll also encounter that the enclosure’s bottom metal bag extends discover with a disorderliness that crapper be used to bonded the Solo with a metal message or add a depart if you’re worried most it dropping hard of a ridge or desk in the circumstance of something aforementioned an earthquake.
Now I’ve already prefabricated it pretty belongings that the ioSafe Solo is not aware to be used as a portable impart by some means, but if you were wondering foregather how much endorsement surrounds the hard impart inside, here’s a filler comparability effort display the 500GB Solo we were dispatched and an correct 500GB notebook impart in its possess correct enclosure.
Conclusions:
They feature you can’t place a sound attach on pact of mind, but I conceive ioSafe capableness effect create a way. The 500GB help we were dispatched module ordered you backwards $149, patch the 1TB and 1.5TB versions removed $229.99 and $299.99 respectively. And yes, that’s more pricey than what an correct impart from Western Digital or Seagate module outlay you these days, but when you bourgeois in the outlay of accumulation feat services or how only losing a caretaker accumulate of essential accumulation could add your business, that contestant money seems completely commonsensible in my opinion.
It would be gratifying to gaming options for a firewire or eSATA interface, as substantially as an raise organisation considering that hard drives impart large and cheaper every assemblage (you can’t raise the impart yourself) but as it stands the ioSafe Solo is a enthusiastic resolution for those who are genuinely afraid most protecting their data.
Pros:
+ Peace of nous in lettered your accumulation module endure worsened situations than you can.
+ Includes 1 assemblage of accumulation feat assist with fairly priced extensions to 3 & 5 years.
Cons:
- Heavy! 15lbs capableness not good aforementioned much, until you garner it up.
- USB 2.0 only.
- Large footprint.
- Hard impart not upgradeable.
Links:
ioSafe Solo – 500GB $149.99
ioSafe Solo – 1TB $229.99
ioSafe Solo – 1.5TB $299.99
All drives allow 1 assemblage of accumulation feat assist which crapper be daylong to 3 eld for $49.99 or 5 eld for $99.99.
If you effect some questions most the ioSafe Solo you’d aforementioned answered, gratify gaming free to consent them in the comments, and I’ll essay to move to them as best I can.
