Fujitsu has provided both looks and functionality with its newest line of HandyDrive 5,400-rpm 2.5-inch external hard drives. Small, sleek, and slick, they've got the laid-back sexiness of an iPhone as well as an ease of setup that saves protecting your data from being a chore—and their very reasonable prices don't hurt. The HandyDrive is available in capacities ranging from 250GB to 500GB; we tested the representative 400GB model ($90 street). The included software isn't that distinctive, but just about everything else about the HandyDrive helps it live up to its name.Measuring about 0.6 by 3.3 by 5.4 inches (HWD) and glossy black on top (the back is gunmetal gray), the HandyDrive is small enough to fit into your back pocket and stylish enough to pull out in front of other people. True, it's less elegant than the Seagate FreeAgent Go, our Editors' Choice portable hard drive—and it comes only in black—but we like the HandyDrive's simple, clean looks. Where you'll stow the two cords you may need is a potential problem, though. One plugs into a mini USB port on the drive, and the other a DC power jack. Both cables connect to your computer's standard USB 2.0 ports, so if your computer can't carry enough electricity over USB alone, you'll need to use both whenever you use the drive.
Setting up the HandyDrive is a snap. As long as your PC runs Windows 2000 Professional or later, or your Mac runs at least OS 10.3, all you need to do is plug the two USB cables into your computer and you're ready to go—although if you're planning on connecting the HandyDrive to a Mac, you'll first need to reformat the drive; it's preformatted as FAT32.
A CD included with the HandyDrive contains PC (but not Mac) versions of three utilities. Acronis TrueImage Personal HDD (version 1.1) lets you back up only individual files and folders, not your full computer, application settings, or e-mail. (For that you'll need to purchase the full version of the software, Acronis True Home Image 2009, or use Windows' own backup apps.) Hard Disk Password Lock Tool (version 2.3) lets you password-protect the drive, but not individual files or folders. And Hard Disk Format Tool (version 3.2.1), as the name implies, is an elementary formatting and partition app. This software all works acceptably and meets the basic utility needs of any hard drive owner, but it doesn't deliver much more than Windows itself is capable of.
The HandyDrive's results on our benchmark tests were quite adequate. The drive took just under 56 seconds to copy a 1.2GB folder from our desktop's hard drive, a task that took the recently reviewed Apricorn Aegis Mini 58 seconds and the Seagate FreeAgent Desk a solid minute. On the PCMark05 test, which measures a hard drive's performance under a variety of test conditions, the HandyDrive scored a respectable 2,931, well ahead of the Aegis Mini (2,165) but behind the FreeAgent Desk (3,263).
With a cost per gigabyte of about 22.5 cents, the 400GB Fujitsu HandyDrive is as affordable as it is visually appealing, and HandyDrive models at other capacities offer similar value. (The 250GB model has a street price of $64.99, the 320GB model can be had for about $74.99, and the 500GB version runs about $109.99.) Although we do wish better software were bundled with the drive, its combination of cost and capabilities makes the HandyDrive a handy addition to your personal backup strategy.
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