Seagate Goes Zero-Profit on 2TB External Hard Drive, 500,000 Photo Storage at New Record Low - Kotaku

"Cloud storage sounds great until you realize you'll have to pay monthly fees forever and hope your internet connection stays strong when you need to get to something important. External hard drives solve both problems by letting you physically control your files without having to pay for them over and over again. Plus, with 2TB of space, you can store about 500,000 photos or hundreds of hours of video before you even think about running out of space."

"The drive connects through USB 3.0 which in real-world tests speeds up transfers to 120MB per second which means that moving a full movie file takes less than a minute instead of the slow speed you'd have to deal with with older USB 2.0 connections. You can also plug it right into Windows PCs, Macs, PlayStation consoles, or Xbox systems without having to install drivers or reformat it in most cases because is because Seagate ships the drive with broad compatibility already set up."

"The metal case protects the device well from small drops and bumps but if you're putting it in a backpack with other gear, you should get a padded case. Seagate offers a one-year rescue service that includes data recovery in case the drive fails which gives you peace of mind because professional recovery services usually cost hundreds of dollars and can't always guarantee results."

External hard drives remove ongoing cloud storage fees and reduce dependence on internet access by giving physical control of files. A 2TB drive holds about 500,000 photos or hundreds of hours of video. Seagate's portable 2TB model is plug-and-play with a USB cable and typically works with Windows, Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox without drivers; Macs may need reformatting for Time Machine. USB 3.0 real-world transfers reach about 120MB/s, letting a full movie copy in under a minute. The metal case protects from small drops, and a padded case is recommended. Seagate offers a one-year rescue service for data recovery. The 2TB model's price dropped from $79 to $64 for Black Friday.

Read at Kotaku