Conclusion:
If you are looking for an extremely compact and stylish portable hard drive, the new
Seagate Free Agent Go series is definitely worth checking out. While the aesthetics are a strong selling point, Seagate didn't sacrifice the performance in order to produce a pretty product. It may not offer the high speed transfers available with an eSATA drive, but the USB 2.0 interface performed quite respectably during testing.
Seagate offers the Free Agent Go in a variety of capacities (250GB to 500GB) and colors (silver, black, red, blue, sky blue, orange, pink, gold, spring green, and green), so there is bound to be a model to meet your tastes and storage needs. One thing that they all have in common is Seagate's five year warranty, which is something you might not want to think about using, but it is good to know you have in case you need it.
The Seagate Free Agent Go 320GB external hard drive can be found online at a variety of stores, including
Newegg.com, where the price is just over $110 (US, with free shipping). The bare 320GB drive inside would set you back about $80 on its own, so the enclosure, cable, and software are therefore worth about $30. If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person, you could get a 2.5 inch enclosure for less than $30, but it probably wouldn't be as small or as stylish. And while there are plenty of software titles out there that can do things like the "Seagate Manager", I haven't used any that are as simple and practical.
One issue with the price is that the dock and travel case are not included with the Free Agent Go. These items are sold together, but separately from the drive, and run about $20 to $30. While both items are well made, useful, and attractive, they are not essential and you would probably get by without them just fine.
Considering the large capacity, small size and weight, and respectable performance, the Seagate Free Agent Go 320GB external hard drive earns the Bigbruin.com "Highly Recommended" award.
Pros:
» Good data transfer rates
» Compact and lightweight
» Stylish: brushed aluminum cover, unique activity lighting, available in multiple colors
» Software is functional, attractive, and intuitive
» No external power required
» Competitively priced
» 5 year warranty
Cons:
» Docking station and travel case are sold separately
Special thanks to
Seagate for providing the Seagate Free Agent Go 320GB External Hard Drive to Bigbruin.com for review!
