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Review: Transcend SSD18C3
No matter how fast the connection is, sometimes external hard drives are only as fast as the hard drives they contain. Even with super-speed connections such as USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt, if the hard drive itself is slow, then you're not going to see the whole benefit of the faster (and more expensive) connections.
The Transcend SSD18C3 USB 3.0 Portable Solid State Drive doesn't have that problem, since it contains a solid state drive, rather than the older mechanical drives. This means it can read and write data very fast, and therefore take advantage of the faster USB 3.0 connection.
Compare this to the G-Technology G-Raid with Thunderbolt, which has the even faster Thunderbolt connection, yet has a 7,200rpm mechanical hard drive, which means the speed of the hard drive is slowing the whole thing down.
The speeds we recorded in our benchmarking tests backed up Transcend's claims of this being a speedy little hard drive, with write speeds of 151.07MB/s and read speeds of a very impressive 234.94MB/s.
In our real-world tests, a 5GB folder containing 150 files was transferred over in just 1 minute 31 seconds. So yeah. Pretty fast.
The Transcend SSD18C3 is small and light, and has a sturdy rubberised case that provides military shock-resistance. An auto-backup button is a nice addition to the hard drive, and can be set up using the Windows-only software available to download from Transcend's website.
The Transcend SSD18C3 comes with a dual-headed USB cable, with one head for data and the second one for supplying power, though it can work with power supplied from a single USB port.
Verdict
The Transcend SSD18C3 USB 3.0 Portable Solid State Drive is fast, light and sturdy, with some good backup options. Everything you'd want in an external hard drive. The only downside is the relatively small capacity.
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Analyst says iPad Mini could spell end of iPad 2
The iPad Mini is very likely meeting the world Tuesday, and while the wonderment mounts, one analyst sees the 7.85-inch slate's coming as the death knell of another Apple tab.
According to Rob Cihra, an analyst at Evercore Partners, an independent investment banking advisory firm, Apple will streamline its offerings following the tiny tablet's arrival.
That means phasing out the iPad 2, Chira said in a note to investors, a device that's less than two years old.
Ever since the new iPad hit its stores, Apple has sold the second-gen iPad at a $399 (UK£249, AU$386) price point, a $100 (UK£62, AU$96) drop from the iPad 3.
Make way for the Mini
Many expect the upcoming iPad Mini to be a smaller version of the iPad 2, though with an upgraded processor and perhaps more RAM.
The Mini likely won't have Retina display, but its probable 1024 x 768 resolution will match the iPad 2's specs.
With that, Apple's likely going to pack more pixels per inch in the new tablet, making the screen sharper than its ancestor.
Chira also noted Apple could see around seven million tablets by the end of the year and 27 million iPads in all during the holidays.
TechRadar has reached out to Apple for comment on these reports and will update this story if and when the company responds.
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Nokia, HTC front and center on Windows Phone 8 invitation
It's really official now: Microsoft will unveil its Windows Phone 8 operating system at an event in San Francisco the morning of Monday, Oct. 29.
While we knew the date was going down, Microsoft has interestingly (though not surprisingly) decided to imbed event details in depictions of four WP8 devices on the invitations.
The invite TechRadar received is swathed with a yellow Lumia 920, Nokia's flagship Windows Phone 8 device though one Microsoft didn't exactly fawned over upon release.
That attention was placed heavily on HTC, with the software-making Softies teaming up with the Taiwanese manufacturer to announce the Windows 8X and Windows 8S.
Microsoft even called the Windows 8X "the signature of the Windows Phone 8 brand."
Plenty of Windows Phone 8 to go around
Though the two companies are pitted against one another in the market, Microsoft is sending a clear message that it isn't playing favorites, at least not during the OS's announcement.
By splitting the spotlight between the two carriers, Microsoft is setting the stage for an all-encompassing Windows Phone 8 love-fest a few weeks from now.
The relations between HTC and Nokia haven't exactly been fuzzy, with reports surfacing late last month that Nokia was considering a lawsuit over the 8X's design.
TechRadar will be front and center at Oct. 29's event, bringing you all the Windows Phone 8 news and reviews for each and every phone, OS and whatever else Microsoft throws our way.
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