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ioSafe has just released their new desktop storage device, the ioSafe Solo - it's a USB 2.0 disk drive that is both fireproof and waterproof. With 500Gb starting at $149.99 it's time to take a comparison of other hard drive manufacturers and see which one offers the best value for the buck.
Storage Capacity
Yesterday I stopped by Fry's electronics and went straight to the hard drives section to see what the big box store was pushing at 500GB and the price range. A standard hard drive (5400 rpm) cost between $119 and $179...the only bells and whistles I could find were pretty lights, cool packaging materials and the occassional 'push button' backup feature (definitely a plus).
The ioSafe Solo at the 500GB range is a 7200 rpm drive and gives me fire and flood protection. Will the fire happen? It's possible. Flood? much more likely in our neck of the woods. Will my primary computer drive crash? Eventually, yes, so I better be backing up my data, digital photos , videos and music.
What about RAID?
Well, the Solo doesn't offer you RAID to protect you from disk failure, but ioSafe already solved that with their internal hard drive called the Pilot and Squadron series...these are 3.5" internal hard drives that you can put inside ANY storage array or server to get your RAID. The price is comparable and if you're the DIY type, then build your next RAID Array with fireproof/waterproof disk drives...why wouldn't you?
What's the Point of all this?
Simply put, it's this...if I am in need of an external hard drive and I go out looking for one, it's a no brainer to spend the extra $10 bucks for fireproof and waterproof (plus the added $1,000 no questions asked one-time data recovery service). No brainer.
Storage Capacity
Yesterday I stopped by Fry's electronics and went straight to the hard drives section to see what the big box store was pushing at 500GB and the price range. A standard hard drive (5400 rpm) cost between $119 and $179...the only bells and whistles I could find were pretty lights, cool packaging materials and the occassional 'push button' backup feature (definitely a plus).
The ioSafe Solo at the 500GB range is a 7200 rpm drive and gives me fire and flood protection. Will the fire happen? It's possible. Flood? much more likely in our neck of the woods. Will my primary computer drive crash? Eventually, yes, so I better be backing up my data, digital photos , videos and music.
What about RAID?
Well, the Solo doesn't offer you RAID to protect you from disk failure, but ioSafe already solved that with their internal hard drive called the Pilot and Squadron series...these are 3.5" internal hard drives that you can put inside ANY storage array or server to get your RAID. The price is comparable and if you're the DIY type, then build your next RAID Array with fireproof/waterproof disk drives...why wouldn't you?
What's the Point of all this?
Simply put, it's this...if I am in need of an external hard drive and I go out looking for one, it's a no brainer to spend the extra $10 bucks for fireproof and waterproof (plus the added $1,000 no questions asked one-time data recovery service). No brainer.
