Western Digital External Hard Disk Drives

Western Digital has a wide variety of external storage products for both the PC and Mac markets. The external drives are available in both large desktop and smaller portable formats. Under the portable segment alone, Western Digital offers five drive families for the PC, and three drive families for the Mac.

Today, we are going to take a look at one of their latest portable drives for the PC market - the 500 GB Western Digital My Passport Essential (USB 3.0). It boasts the following features :

• USB 3.0 Plus USB 2.0 - A single drive with universal compatibility today and next-generation speed for tomorrow. Use it with USB 2.0 now and step up to USB 3.0 speed when you're ready.
• Ultra-small - Lightweight, stylish and easy to carry, this drive is powered directly from the USB port on your PC. No separate power supply is needed.
• WD SmartWare - WD's automatic, continuous backup software also doubles as a drive lock and management utility.

Now, let's find out how this portable hard disk drive fares against its competitors!

Packaging

The Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB portable hard disk drive comes in a rather large cardboard box. The drive is visible through the clear plastic window. Its storage capacity and supported interfaces are printed clearly at the lower left corner on the front, with the key features listed on the back of the box. In case you missed it, Western Digital stuck a large, yellow USB 3.0 sticker right on the display window.

Inside, you will find the following items :

• a Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB portable hard disk drive,
• a USB 3.0 cable,
• a Quick Install Guide,
• a warranty information sheet,
• WD SmartWare software (preloaded in the drive).

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