USB sticks are OK I suppose, but I can’t wait to pack one of these Seagate portable hard drives in my pocket!

The different palm-sized portable UBS disk drives hold between 2.5 and 6 GB depending on which model you choose.

They are all rated at 3600 RPM, and come with 2 MB of internal RAM so they can reach a respectable 480 Mbps transfer rate. Unlike a normal IDE hard drive, these can be plugged into a USB2.0 port when the computer is switched on. Also, there’s no need for an external PSU because they draw power directly from the USB port.

The case is designed to be shock resistant to protect your data, and the cable is retractable, making the drive very compact in size. I’m sure they must weigh a lot more than a USB stick though, even if you get a lot more storage capacity per buck

The smallest sized drive costs upwards of $65 and the whopping 6 GB portable USB drive costs only $84, so they’re quite reasonably priced in my view.

The disks come with CD and a one year warranty as well as free, lifetime advice. I’m not sure what the advice would be after the guarantee has run out though. I’m guessing it’s probably technical advice along the lines of; “It’s broken – you need to buy a new one!”

Visit the Seagate website for more details.