Verbatim Store’n’Go 4GB USB HDD Review

The Verbatim Store’n’Go portable USB drive is a mixed bag, depending on what you use it for. As a storage medium, it is very slow compared to static flash devices. It has takes nearly twice as long to access the data, and at its best is still slower than an average flash drive. At its worst, it performs at nearly half the speed of a flash drive.

The silver bullet of this little device is its Ceedo integration. You can install self-contained programs right to the device that will run on any modern Windows PC without re-installation. This can be very handy for IT professionals or technology enthusiasts that need all their common utilities on one hot-pluggable device. Privacy nuts will like that all of their internet browsing cache and history settings can be kept on the device, leaving your work PC clean as a whistle.

Frequent access can shorten a flash drive’s life, so if this is a concern for you, deal with the slow speed and stick with Verbatim’s hard-disk-based solution.

The Verbatim’s Store’n’Go has functionality that blows the doors off of a regular flash drive, despite the lack of performance. If you can find a solid-state flash drive with Ceedo installed, then you can have speed as well as functionality.

	REPORT CARD : Verbatim Store’n’Go 4GB HDD category rating comments Quality 3 It’s an actual hard drive, so it can be written to indefinitely, unlike flash memory. It’s light, so can handle drops better than a normal hard drive. It’s not solid state, so don’t forget to take it out of your pants on wash day. Innovation 5 Having portable applications is great! You have access clean copies of virus and spyware scanners from the device without fear of infection. All temporary IE files can be stored on the device, keeping any trace of your browsing habits off the host computer. Performance 2 It performs nearly half the speed and nearly double the access time of an average USB memory drive. If you frequently run portable apps from the device, prepare for a world of hurt. Aethetics 2 The device is bulkier than a memory stick, and I’m not a fan of USB dongles at all. It does have a neat blue LED when plugged in, and flashes when accessed. The faux chrome underside scratches easily. Value 3 This nifty little device can be had for around $100 through online retailers, which is in-between the average price for a 4GB memory stick. If you don’t need portable apps, then this isn’t the droid you’re looking for. Move along… FINAL VERDICT: 3 out of 5 stars