Western Digital My Passport (2 TB, WDBY8L0020BBK)
Adata's drive is the toughest one, Hitachi's is the fastest, and Western Digital's submission turned out to be the largest, setting a new capacity record for external 2.5” drives with 2 TB of space.
In order to fit 2 TB on a 2.5” drive, Western Digital's disk consists of four 500 GB platters. This leads to a slightly thicker case (0.83”). But, all things considered, the chassis is still smaller than the ruggedized Adata drive, and only marginally heavier, weighing in at 0.5 lbs. Like its storage capacity, the My Passport's price is hefty at $200. When you divide capacity into cost, though, this model is actually pretty comparable to the competition.
If the 2 TB model is too rich for your blood, Western Digital also sells 500 GB, 750 GB, and 1 TB versions of the My Passport.
Western Digital's drive features a 5400 RPM disk drive able to achieve maximum sequential read rates of 83.5 MB/s and maximum sequential writes as high as 83.3 MB/s. That's slightly faster than Adata's DashDrive Durable HD710, but it can't come close to Hitachi's Touro Mobile Pro.
The bundled software, SmartWare 1.5.4.5, is an all-around tool for backing up, restoring, and erasing data. It features a timer function that can turn off the drive, along with a diagnostic utility. Each software feature is accessed via a separate tab, aiding ease of use.
Although auditioning the software didn't reveal any amazing innovations, there is a handful of features we liked. For instance, SmartWare can execute a backup after an idle timer triggers the action, which should minimize the impact on productivity after someone steps away from their machine. The backup tool supports versioning; it keeps a user-configurable number of older file versions.
Another integrated tool, WD Security, allows you to enter a drive password. The My Passport only appears as an accessible drive after the password is entered.
