Hard Drive Tests: 2.5'' and 500 GB from Samsung and Toshiba

Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Transcend StoreJet 25A3 1 TB Fast and Tough LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 500 GB Desktop Hard Drive Western Digital My Book 3.0 1 TB

We've just added two new 2.5'' external hard drives to our ongoing Product Survey. 

Both models offer 500 GB of storage and come from manufacturers that you wouldn't traditionally associate with external storage, despite their excellent reputation in other fields.  On the outside, the Samsung S2 Portable and the Toshiba HDDR500E03E look similar enough, but do they also match each other's performance?

> Test: Samsung S2 Portable 500 GB
> Test: Toshiba HDDR500E03E

> Product Survey: External Hard Drives

> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products