Product Face-Offs
Samsung S2 Portable 500 GB
| Specifications | |||
| Capacity | 500 GB | ||
| Format | 2.5 inches | ||
| Interface | USB 2.0 | ||
| Rotation Speed | 5400 rpm | ||
| Cache | NC | ||
 See all specifications | |||
| Write Speed | NC |
| Read Speed | NC |
 Hide specifications | |
Pierre-Jean Alzieu
Updated: February 25, 2010 - Test date: May 29, 2009
Updated: February 25, 2010 - Test date: May 29, 2009
Great software
Samsung has included a good selection of software with this external hard drive. You can use it to schedule backups, and even choose the folders or types of files you want to save. And if you want to keep your data safe, you can also encrypt it and protect it with a password.
There's no install CD in the packaging, though. Both tools are found on the disk itself. If you ever need to format it, make sure you back them up somewhere else first, otherwise you'll have to download them again from Samsung's website.
There's no install CD in the packaging, though. Both tools are found on the disk itself. If you ever need to format it, make sure you back them up somewhere else first, otherwise you'll have to download them again from Samsung's website.
We've got nothing to say about its looks, which are very easy on the eye. Better still, it's small enough to slide easily into a pocket and it won't take up too much room on your desk. It only has the bare minimum of connections, with a single USB port: we would have preferred eSATA or FireWire 400. A second USB cable is included to power the hard drive.
The main physical problem is the lack of any kind of non-slip surface on the bottom of the case. These can prove very useful for lightweight drives that are easily knocked off the edge of a desk.
Slightly weak write speeds
Speeds over USB (MB/s)
When we tested it out, we found the Samsung S2 Portable wasn't quite there when it came to writing data. On average, it peaked at an average write speed of 23.9 MB/s; the best drives reach 27.8 MB/s in the same conditions. Things picked up when reading data pack from the S2 Portable, though, which could almost rival the best of the bunch. Its maximum read speed was 32.2 MB/s, compared to the 33.4 Mb/s achieved by the Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini.
When we tested it out, we found the Samsung S2 Portable wasn't quite there when it came to writing data. On average, it peaked at an average write speed of 23.9 MB/s; the best drives reach 27.8 MB/s in the same conditions. Things picked up when reading data pack from the S2 Portable, though, which could almost rival the best of the bunch. Its maximum read speed was 32.2 MB/s, compared to the 33.4 Mb/s achieved by the Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini.
Pluses
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Style and design
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Complete software
Minuses
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Weak speeds for writing data
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No anti-slip coating
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Access time: 18.6 ms
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Only connects with USB 2.0
The Samsung S2 Portable is a great-looking external hard drive which is well-made. The software it comes with is also pretty complete. However, when we tried it out, we found it wasn't the fastest at writing data.
