Transcend StoreJet 25M3 1TB Portable Hard Drive Review

Transcend StoreJet 25M3 1TB Portable Hard Drive Review

Manufacturer: Transcend
UK Price: £59.99
US Price: $89.99

SSDs may be taking over much of the storage market, with the likes of the Samsung SSD Evo series dominating performance PC storage and portable SSDs now eating away at the ‘chuck in your bag’ portable storage market. However, if your data needs are more size than speed then there’s still plenty of cause to opt for a hard drive, and that’s no less the case for external storage as it is for your PC.

Today then we’re looking at the Transcend StoreJet 25M3 1TB, a hefty 1TB portable USB 3.0 hard drive. But it’s not just portable, it’s also somewhat ruggedised with it drop-proof to military standard 810F Meth.516.5 Proc.IV Transit Drop, which specifies that the subject is dropped on each face, edge and corner, for a total of 26 drops, from a height of 122cm (4ft). So while the StoreJet will still come a cropper if you start throwing it around or dropping it off cliff edges, for everyday usage this should be a reliably tough storage solution. It also features one-touch backup, operated via the included software and button on the side of the drive, and includes encryption software, making it a reasonably good all-round package, at least on the surface.



Design
The tough credentials of the StoreJet 25M3 are immediately apparent thanks to its dimensions and mostly rubber finish. While the drive inside is 100 x 70 x 7mm, the external dimensions are 129.5 x 82.4 x 20.4mm. This is a little larger than some portable hard drives but is still quite impressively petite considering the protection on offer.

Keeping those bumps at bay is a triple layer of protection with a silicone inner holding the drive, a hard plastic shell surrounding this then a rubber coating finishing things off. Oddly the rubber coating doesn’t cover the end where the ports and button are, seemingly making them a little more vulnerable. However the test specification does note that the subject must pass drops on all edges so this clearly isn't a weakness at least when it comes to passing that test.



Aesthetically, we’re not overly taken with the grey and lime green but given the rugged focus it’s pretty low on our list of considerations. It does amuse us, though, that bright colours have come to mean ‘tough’ when the only reason for them becoming so was so that outdoorsy devices would be easy to find in the undergrowth or underwater. And we hardly see either being an issue for the StoreJet, especially as it isn’t waterproof – you’ll have to opt for Western Digital’s considerably heftier Nomad case for that.



Straight out the box, one small issue we do have is that the drive requires two ports to get enough power when connected over USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 provides enough power that only one socket is needed). A cable with two plugs is provided but if you’ve an older MacBook Air for instance then you won’t be able to stretch the cable to find enough ports. Some other drives don’t require this extra power so can make do with a single port. The only other things included in the box are the quick start manual, warranty card and some promo bumpf.

External considerations aside, the StoreJet 25M3 is a fairly typical modern portable hard drive. It uses a USB 3.0 interface for theoretical max throughput speeds of 5Gbit/s while the drive inside spins at a typical 5,400rpm.

Transcend StoreJet 25M3 1TB Portable Hard Drive Review Specs

• Size: 129.5mm x 82.4mm x 20.4mm
  
• Op. Voltage: USB DC 5V
  
• Op. Temperature: 5°C (41°F) to 55°C (131°F)
  
• Storage Media: 2.5" SATA HDD
  
• Weight: 216g
  
• Certificates: CE, FCC, BSMI
  
• Connection Interface: USB 2.0/3.0
  
• Power Saving Mode: 10 mins
  
• OneTouch Backup: Yes

Read on to find out how the Transcend StoreJet 25M3 performs.