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 four drive families for the PC, and three drive families for the Mac.

Today, we are going to take a look at their latest portable hard disk drive for the PC market - the 1 TB Western Digital My Passport Slim (WDBGMT0010BAL). It boasts the following features :

• Ultra-slim, metal design - This drive is sleek and fast with plenty of capacity for your important digital content.

• Durable enclosure protects the drive inside - We know your data is important to you. So we build the drive inside to our demanding requirements for durability, shock tolerance, and long-term reliability. Then, we protect the drive with a durable enclosure designed for beauty and a 3-year limited warranty for your peace of mind.

• Ultra-fast transfer rates - When connected to a USB 3.0 port, My Passport Slim lets you access and save files in blazing speed. Reduce transfer time by up to three times when compared to USB 2.0 transfer rates.

• USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility -With this single drive you get compatibility with your USB 2.0 devices today and the ultra-fast speed of USB 3.0 when you're ready to step up to the next generation.

• Automatic backup software - WD SmartWare Pro automatic backup software works quietly in the background to help protect your data using minimal PC resources. Select automatic, continuous backup to instantly back up your files. Or select the scheduled backup option to back up your files on your schedule and take control of your backup.

• Local and cloud backup - WD SmartWare Pro automatic backup software lets you chose when and where you back up your files. Choose scheduled backup to back up files on the schedule that works best for you. Choose file or folder backup if that is your preference. Use your Dropbox account to back up your files to the cloud.

• WD Security - WD Security utility allows you to set password protection and hardware encryption for your drive to protect your files from unauthorized use or access.

• WD Drive Utilities - Register your drive, run diagnostics and more using WD Drive Utilities.

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

Packaging

The Western Digital My Passport Slim 1 TB portable hard disk drive comes in a nice cardboard box with a small clear plastic window in front. Unlike their My Passport and My Passport Ultra lines, the Western Digital My Passport Slim only comes in one colour - silver on top, and matte black on the sides and bottom. This remains true even when the 2 TB model arrives in November / December. Maybe that's why the box appears to be a generic one for the current My Passport Slim family - with the drive capacity label stuck at the lower right corner.

The drive's key features are summarized as icons under the plastic window, with more details at the back and the top of the box. The top of the box lists the contents of the box, while the bottom has a white sticker that not only gives you the drive's serial number and place of manufacture (Thailand), it also confirms the warranty period. Western Digital is offering a 3 year warranty on this driver worldwide, as well as free 30-day telephone support.

Inside, you will find that the drive is well-protected by a plastic enclosure that doubles as the clear plastic window of the box. Once you take it apart, you will find the following items :

• the Western Digital My Passport Slim 1 TB portable hard disk drive,
• a USB 3.0 cable,
• a Quick Install Guide,
• a warranty information sheet,
• WD SmartWare software (preloaded in the drive).
• a black pouch

Support Tech ARP!

If you like our work, you can help support out work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!