There are many different bus-powered portable hard drives on the market, but most fall short in delivering everything you need. Bus-powered means that you do not need an AC-adapter to run the drive and that your FireWire or USB port powers it. Iomega, LaCie, Apricorn, and others sell 500GB portables that fit in your pocket, include some kind of shock resistance, and as I can personally attest, work flawlessly. What these companies do not offer is a portable drive that offers multiple types of connections, a speedy hard drive mechanism accompanied by a reasonably sized data transfer cache, and a suite of useful hard drive utilities.
Enter the Mercury On-The-Go Pro. What sets OWC’s new portable solution apart from other brands are these features: Drive speed, data cache, software, and warranty. The newest option finds a massive 500GB 7200RPM drive with 16MB data cache – suitable for video and sound editing on the go – securely housed in our proven shock resistant polycarbonate acrylic transparent case. While big on performance, this little powerhouse will fit discreetly into your pocket and weighs only 2.5 lbs.
This 500GB baby fills your travel bag or pocket with a complete solution, perfect for photographers who depend on RAW file capture or the video or audio editors that need portable speed and space. When you need to preserve your MacBook’s or laptop’s battery life, you can use the OWC Mercury On-The-Go AC Power Adapter. The adapter sells for only $4.99 and uses a standard US AC plug.
If your technology budget hangs over your head like the Sword of Damocles, OWC offers other Mercury On-The-Go Pro solution in a variety of affordable FireWire/USB 2.0 interface and RPM speed models.
Included with all these perfectly portable storage solutions are a carrying case, all the cables you need, a 3-year warranty, and a CD with OWC’s signature disk utility software bundle. The $200 retail value bundle includes a retail version of Prosoft Data Backup 3 for OS X, NovaStor NovaBACKUP for Windows, Intech HD SpeedTools, and Carbon Copy Cloner. These applications are not required to use the On-The-Go, but are useful utilities for backing up data and managing your hard drive.
Don’t Take Our Word For It
While our newest, speediest solution hasn’t been on the market long enough to generate any reviews, we can link you to reviews of our other Mercury On-The-Go products. Read for yourself how the experts liked the ultimate portable Mercury On-The-Go solution. Please note that the prices listed in the reviews may not reflect current pricing.
BlogCritics Technology Review, by Mark Buckingham, 3/13/09: OWC Mercury On-The-Go 320GB 7200RPM External Hard Drive.
ZDNet, The Apple Core, by Jason O’Grady, 5/6/08: Review: OWC Mercury On-The-Go 500GB portable HDD.
Macworld.com, by Chris Holt, 12/09/08: OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800/400 + USB 2.0 320GB.
CNET Editor’s Review by Dong Ngo, 5/13/08: OWC Mercury On-The-Go (500GB).
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I only recommend this series to my clients who need a bus-powered drive. I have a 320 GB drive myself.