Storage and Security On the Go: 6 External Hard Drives

Soyo Cigar HD: Small And Sweet

Taiwanese motherboard maker Soyo is looking to tap into new business segments; for example, they recently launched a telephony division (phone.soyo.com/ ). At Computex, Soyo unveiled the Cigar HD, an external hard drive base on a 1.8" drive. The product is a bit odd, yet not unattractive.

The Cigar HD - goodness knows why they gave it that name - features a total storage capacity of 20 GB. The availability of bigger 1.8" hard drives will naturally make bigger versions possible. The unit sports a USB 2.0 interface, which without a doubt offers the best connectivity around today.

Due to the small size of the hard drive relative to the size of the casing, the performance of the Cigar HD is not superlative, although it is generally sufficient for normal uses like data backup and transfer. The device comes with a small, protective cloth pouch for toting it around.