Clickfree Portable Backup Drive Review

Backup is an indispensable task and external drives are the tool to implement them. But taking backups can be a hassle due to the various steps involved. Clickfree portable backup drive aims to eliminate them by integrating software in to the drive that intelligently scans for changed files and backs them up instantly. The drive is priced fine for the storage capacity and is easy to use.

Clickfree Portable Backup Drive specifications :

• Dimensions : 2.9″ x 4.5″ x 0.7
• Form factor : 2.5″ external hard drive
• Capacity : 320GB
• Buffer size : 8MB
• Interface : High-speed USB
• Max. transfer speed : 480 Mbps
• Spindle speed : 5400 rpm
• OS compatibility : Windows XP/2000/Vista
• Warranty : 1-year limited
• Approx. price : $150

The drive is available in capacities starting from 120GB and going upto 500GB. The dimensions of the drive are rather small and it almost feels like a feather at just 172 g. The drive is of 2.5″ form factor and does not require a external power supply to run. The spindle speed is standard 5400 rpm found in most external hard drives.

Backing up data with the drive is a piece of cake as the drive comes with preloaded software that automates the backup process. It can ‘watch’ folders for any new files or changes and immediately update them in its backup. Apart from that you can specify the file formats it should backup and it recognises a wide variety of formats. The drive launches the software each time the drive is connected to the computer. Transfering files from the drive is not possible when the backup process is going on.

Backing up the first time takes time and understandbly so but subsequent backups are fast. The drive maintains a copy of the deleted file incase you need it in future. It also supports 15 different backup profiles giving you lot of flexibility. During restore process, the resored data is dumped in to a single folder rather than its original location.

The Clickfree’s performance is great and it manages to write data at 24MBps and read it at 26MBps which will suffice for a external hard drive. The cost of the drive is at par with other portable external drives that come without the software preloaded. Overall the drive is almost a perfect backup solution without extra cost.

Pros :

• Automated backup
• Great performance
• Multiple profile support
• Inexpensive

Cons :

• 1-year warranty
• No Firewire support

Final Thoughts

The Clickfree Portable Backup Drive is a close to perfect solution to your backup hassles. It has great performance and handles backups effortlessly. The price is the deal clincher as its at par with other drives in its category that do not offer the automated backup feature.

Rating : 4.5/5