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Well folks here it is , the Handy Drive from
Apacer . The Handy Drive is a plug and play device , simply plug
into any USB port and the computer will automatically detect it as a
removable disk drive . The handy drive comes in various storage
capacities of , 8mb , 16mb , 32mb , 64mb , 128mb , 256mb , 512mb ,
and 1Gb . Win98 needs the drivers for this device but win ME , 2000
, XP don't , and installing the drivers is as easy as can be .
Looking in the box , the Handy Drive comes with a USB extension
cable , Carry strap / string for carrying the HD like a pendant ,
instruction manual and win98 drivers , all neatly packed in a small
but sturdy box .
Handy Drive
Features: .
Support flash ROM ( EEPROM ) for ISP ( In system programming )
through USB port . It can update the system firmware anywhere and
anytime for the security demand . .
Support Toshiba & Fujitsu & Samsung NAND flash memory
32Mbit, 64Mbit, 128Mbit, 256Mbit, 512Mbit, and 1Gbit .
Support USB specification rev 1.1 .
Transfer rate up to 12Mbit per second at full speed . .
Support power saving mode to reduce the power consumption while
using Handy Drive in any mobile devices. .
Support win 98/98SE with device drivers . .
Support win ME / XP / 2000 / Mac 8.6 or above / Linux 2.4.0 or above
, without any device drivers . .
Drivers available for Linux RedHat 7 & SuSe 7.1 .
LED indicates when the HD is in use . .
Write / delete protection switch . .
Hot Plug & Play . Enables you to install / uninstall HD anytime. .
Durable solid-state storage , more than 10 years data retention. .
No external power required , as its powered by the USB bus. 
Testing
: 123 To test Handy Drive , I recorded
some TV in AVI format , aprox 30,316kb of footage and then timed how
long it would take to transfer over to the Handy Drive , say
compared to my Back up HDD . Well it took 35 seconds to transfer the
30,316kb AVI file to the Handy Drive and only 4.5 sec to my back up
HDD . Well thats 7 times longer , but something I could live with .
Playing the AVI file from the Handy Drive was no problem at all ,
with the AVI playing as well as from the HDD . Conclusion
: The
Handy Drive is meant to be a storage device and as such works like a
treat , from 8meg to 1gig , you chose how much you will be needing
and pay accordingly . I have still not received the recommended
retail prices on the Handy Drive so I cant tell you what you
will be paying . 
You
can see from this picture just how small the Handy Drive is , and as
such is far easier to carry around than a Floppy or Zip disk , and
dep on the HD you chose have far superior storage capacity . The
Handy Drive has a small switch for locking the drive , making it virtually
impossible to install or delete data on the HD , making for
extremely secure data storage . I would not be the least bit
surprised if the CIA were not already using this device , or
something similar , and from what I have heard the Handy Drive is
very popular with the Executive set . Wont be too long before the
kids at school start carrying HD's rather than note books around
from class to class , well maybe , still the Handy Drive is a very
easy and secure way to carry data to or from work , or even have
your entire presentation stored on the HD , simply plug into a USB
port and play , on virtually any computer , anywhere . In all
fairness this product is hard to fault , and easy to fall in love
with , ok it takes a little time to load the data on , but the same
goes for the ZIP Drive , and there is no way Im going to go around
with a HDD in my pocket ( are you just glad to see me or is that a
HDD in your pocket ) . So for all intensive
purposes this is one great idea , one fine product , small and innovative
, yep I like it , and if you buy one Im sure you'll like it as well
, and unlike a ZIP drive , it wont die on you the week after the
warranty ran out , like my ZIP drive did . 10 out of 10
here folks , so give the Handy Drive a good long look see if you are
looking for a very small data storage device , that can be used on virtually
any computer you have access to with a USB port . I
would like to thank ANYWARE
for making this review possible . Matt
Korhonen |
