Transcend StoreJet 20 GB
At 4.15 oz (118 g,) the StoreJet is significantly lighter than the Seagate drive, a result of its being built around a smaller 1.8" hard disk. But its smaller dimensions also limit its capacity: it can store only 20 or 40 GB. Still, assessed purely on the basis of "gigabytes per ounce," the higher-capacity StoreJet beats any of the Seagate models.
That's not the case with the 20 GB model that Transcend shipped us, however. For this drive, the bottleneck appears to be the USB controller; in sharp contrast to the Seagate drive, this device appeared unable to achieve read throughput any higher than about 12 MB/s. The drive includes a 2 MB cache and rotates at 4,200 RPM. As a point of comparison, for other 1.8" drives, read throughput of over 20 MB/s is no problem.
The StoreJet scored some points for its cooler operation. Although the Seagate Portable Hard Drive warmed up noticeably with use, the StoreJet stayed cool even after extended use. Another plus is that Transcend offers a two-year manufacturer's warranty for this drive.
