Travel Gear: Samsung Portable Solid State Drive
The T5 comes imbedded with software for PCs and Macs and includes both a USB-C to USB-A cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable.
We know we should back up our devices to an external hard drive — especially if we’ll be traveling and could lose not just data but the device itself.
But typical HDD portable drives that can back up the massive amount of memory stored on our devices can be bulky and take a very long time to get the job done. Plus, the HHD internal spinning disk mechanism can be fragile, especially in transport.
Forget about all that with Samsung’s new Portable Solid State Drive (SSD) T5.
With V-NAND flash memory and a USB-3.1 Gen 2 interface (backward compatible to USB-3.0 and USB-2.0), the tiny 3-inch by 2.25-inch by 3/8-inch-thick T5 can transfer data at a blazing speed of up to 540MB/sec. Weighing a mere 2 ounces, the tough aluminum chassis contains no moving parts, making the T5 super-resilient.
The T5 comes embedded with software for PCs and Macs and includes both a USB-C to USB-A cable and a USB-C to USB-C cable. Android users can download an app for compatible mobile devices. There’s no iOS app; online Apple forums indicate some success connecting the newest iPads or iPhones by reformatting files and using adapter cables, but the prevailing opinion seems to be not yet.
Samsung Portable 500GB SSD T5 is about $90; 1TB, $190; 2TB, $300; at samsung.co