Toshiba's STOR.E ART, 2.5" creates an impression right from the get go because of its unique looks.
Apart from its attractive body there are plenty of extras; the drive ships with NTI's BackupNow EZ software, Password Protection and a trial version of McAfee's Internet Security 2009. BackupNow is a comprehensive solution that can be used by beginners and experts while the Password Protection software allows you to quickly protect your data from prying eyes. The trial version of McAfee's Internet Security is also a good bonus for dial-up Internet users without a security suite.
Our test sample packs 500GB of storage capacity and uses the USB2.0 interface. In terms of performance the STOR.E ART proved slightly slower than Toshiba's own SecuRed 200GB drive (also reviewed on ITP.net).
Whereas the Red required two minutes and 37 seconds (from PC to drive) and three minutes and 19 seconds (from drive to PC) to complete our 4.2GB transfer the ART required two minutes and 43 seconds and three minutes and 22 seconds. Considering we found the Red's transfer performance quite basic the ART is even more of a performance slouch.
Performance aside the ART offers exceptional value-for-money considering the included software and US $0.2 cost per gigabyte.
